Model Based Systems Engineering with a Docs-as-Code Approach for the SeaLion CubeSat Project

Abstract

The SeaLion mission architecture team sought to create a model-based systems engineering approach to assist improving CubeSat success rates as well as for the SeaLion CubeSat project to guide an implementation for the flight software. This is important because university CubeSat teams are growing in number but often have untrained students as their core personnel. This was done using a document-as-code, or docs-as-code, approach. With this the team created tools for the systems architecture with the Mach 30 Modeling Language to create an architecture that is easy to learn and use even for newly admitted team members with little to no training. These tools generate documents via its own code for easy presentation on a local file system without any proprietary software while keeping the model content format-agnostic.

Micro-Satellite Systems Design, Integration, and Flight

“…The manuscript will use a model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach [26][27][28] to analyze and design both the CubeSat and the ChipSat. The MBSE approach maintains traceability throughout the satellite's life cycle [29].…”