PEDRO-V: From a concurrent engineering case study to a promising phase zero mission definition

TL;DR

This paper presents a case study of ESA's student challenge where concurrent engineering methods enabled rapid, effective space mission design, culminating in the PEDRO-V Venus mission proposal.

Contribution

It demonstrates the successful application of concurrent engineering in an academic setting for space mission concept development and feasibility assessment.

Findings

Concurrent engineering enabled rapid design convergence.

Student teams effectively defined mission subsystems and requirements.

The PEDRO-V mission feasibility was successfully confirmed.

Abstract

Each year, the European Space Agency (ESA) organizes challenges for university students, from BSc to PhD levels. The ESA Concurrent Engineering Challange 2024 was hosted by four Concurrent Design Facilites (CDF) across Europe: ESEC Galazia, ISAE SUPAERO, the University of Athens, and the University of Portsmouth. A total of 102 students participated in the event. Over five days, students worked on a feasibility study for a space mission, simulating ESA's design session at ESTEC, the ESA headquarters. Students were divided into specializes groups based on their backgrounds, reflecting ESA's concurrent engineering teams. This paper discusses the design of subsystems by students, their trade-off results, and the outcomes of the CDF study. It highlights the effectiveness of concurrent engineering, which enabled rapid and efficient results even from non-esxpert teams. The future development roadmap and lessons learned are also presented. The students used CDP4-Comet software within the replicated ESA CDF, resulting in the PEDRO-V mission proposal: Planetary Exploration Deployment and Research Operation - Venus. The teams collaboratively defined the Concept of Operations, identified actors, worst-case scenarios, use cases, and activities. Their output included a list of requirements, a draft product breakdown structure, and key subsystems information. The concurrent engineering process led to continuous improvement and convergence of key parameters. This approach proved to be effective by aligning different teams' solutions and comparing them to similar missions. The PEDRO-V mission feasibility was confirmed, demonstrating the potential of concurrent engineering in accademic settings for space missions. (summarized with AI)