The launch vehicle industry has long been considered a pioneering industry in systems engineering. Launch vehicles are large complex systems that require a methodical multi-disciplinary approach to design, build, and launch. Launch vehicles are used to deliver payloads—such as humans, robotic science missions, or national security payloads—to desired locations in space. Previous research has identified deficient or underperforming systems engineering as a leading contributor to launch vehicle failures. Launch vehicle failures can negatively affect national security, the economy, science, and society, thus highlighting the importance of understanding the factors that influence systems engineering in launch vehicle organizations in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate the relationships between organizational factors and systems engineering process performance. Structural equation modeling was used to develop a model of the relationships of these factors and test hypotheses. The results showed that organizational commitment, top management support, the perceived value of systems engineering, and systems engineering support significantly influence systems engineering process performance in the launch vehicle industry. Implications of this study for improving the performance of systems engineering in launch vehicle organizations are discussed.

Historically, through extensive government involvement, most orbital rocket companies have adopted the government's systems engineering approach. However, over the past decade, the Federal government has been less involved in the development of new launch vehicles. The diminishing involvement by the Federal government has given way to the rise of nontraditional systems engineering life‐cycle approaches for launch vehicle development. This paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of the different system engineering life‐cycle approaches in the launch vehicle industry.

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