Browsing by Author "Schuster, Ashley"

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A Method to Predict Component Life and Inform System Design
(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Schuster, Ashley; Keilich, Maria; Luker, Kelly; Rohrig, Jake; Bahl, Theodore
The commercialization of space is reshaping the traditional methods of designing and sustaining a system in the emerging Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations (CLD) market. To enable a successful program over the life of a product, it is critical to know the non-recurring, recurring, and sustaining engineering efforts required to meet performance needs at the onset of the program. One of the key drivers in all three of these aspects is hardware reliability and predicted life. Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has worked to develop an analysis method and associated model that can be used to predict component life and the impact of life values on a program. Using this method, operation and hardware information informs component life, sub-assembly life, and system life. The outputs of this model include the aforementioned life data as well as the impacts of that data on key design metrics such as initial and lifetime mass. This paper will discuss the analysis methodology and how the results can be used to inform the initial design of a system, the sustaining engineering plan, and the initial assumptions for Collins' Leto™, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered spaceflight intelligence system. To demonstrate the value of the approach, a case study is described on the Water Processor Assembly (WPA).
A Model for Quantifying Technical Trades Using Cost in Commercial Space
(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Schuster, Ashley; Mugurusa, Diego S.; Woldemariam, Beakal; Guyette, Greg
The commercialization of space is driving increased aspirations for space exploration with a heightened focus on the associated financial considerations. These changes are forcing the industry to re-examine long forgotten trades, but commercialization does provide one powerful tool for doing so –the ability to consider all variables as a cost. Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has developed a model that leverages this to quantify the value of a system using a lifetime cost/benefit analysis. This model accounts for factors ranging from individual component selection to interest rates, all of which are distilled into a financial metric that enables a direct comparison between alternatives. The output of the model can be used to compare system variants against each other, entire systems against each other, or the inclusion versus exclusion of a particular system at the platform level with the goal of finding a lifetime cost optimized solution. The paper specifically discusses the development of this type of model and how the results of a life cycle cost analysis can be used for life support subsystems in the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations market using alternate water system architectures as a case study. Within this, the paper will examine the factors considered by the model, the development of the model to process these factors, and both the opportunities and shortcomings of using this kind of model in today's space market. Although the paper will focus on Low Earth Orbit applications, the model can be evolved for application to deep space transit, surface habitation, or other space markets.
Case Study of the Benefits of Collaboration Between Aircraft and Space
(2024 International Conference on Environmnetal Systems, 2024-07-21) Schuster, Ashley; Woldemariam, Beakal; Campbell, Andrew; Litton, Kevin; Myers, Casey; Hoang, Thao; Diner, Joe; Monson, Timothy
Only 100 years ago, taking a flight across the ocean was as unattainable to much of the world as traveling to space seems today. However, the airline industry underwent a commercial revolution that made air travel a staple in the global economy. That growth was remarkably similar to the rapid change that the space industry is seeing today. As a supplier to both commercial aircraft and space platforms, Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, has taken advantage of its broad expertise and performed cross-discipline collaboration to bring commercial aircraft and space lessons learned together for use in the commercialization of space. This paper discusses the findings from work completed by Collins Aerospace Space Systems and Interiors that looked at one area where these business units directly overlap - the commode. The work aimed to determine what differences exist between the space systems and aircraft approaches to the commode and how these differences could be leveraged to optimize the design and execution of the commode for the space market. The key outputs to be discussed include findings from the exercise and the implementation of the findings on a new commode architecture.