Developing Responsive and Agile Space Systems - Space-Library

of open standards and protocols. The result
is an open and standardized domain that
is easily exploited for the innovation of
competitive products and services across a
multitude of markets. Another example is
the Open Handset Alliance, a group of 50
technology and mobile communications
companies that collaborated to develop
a common software platform for hosting
mobile applications. The alliance credits
increased openness with enabling people to
innovate more rapidly and respond better
to consumer demands. The use of common,
consensus-based services has allowed
member companies to focus their resources
on other efforts, such as producing the next
great application.
Adopting a collaborative approach toward
open architectures and standards for
space presents an opportunity for the military
services, national agencies, and space
industry to pursue innovations in technology
and practice that not only yield a
greater return on investment, but are more
responsive to the warfighter.
Line-of-sight antitank featurebased
tracker
Force XXI
Battle
Command
Brigade
and Below
(FBCB2)
Joint
variable
message
format
messaging
Applications programming
interface (standard)
Operating environment software
Operating system
interface (standard)
Target
tracking
Operating
environment
Weapon
systems
common
operating
environment
Featurebased
tracker
Operationally Responsive Space
The Operationally Responsive Space
(ORS) Office, located at Kirtland Air Force
Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was established
in May 2007 with the mission of
developing the end state architectural blueprint
and supporting technology roadmaps
that will enable space system developers to
field capabilities that can rapidly respond
to joint force commander (JFC) needs.
Aerospace is supporting the ORS Office in
its charter of demonstrating operationally
responsive access to space by 2010 with full
mission capability by 2015. Full mission
capability includes delivering a broad range
of “good enough to win” space capabilities
to any JFC worldwide—faster and cheaper
than what it takes to field “exquisite” capabilities
today. The ORS Office is charged
with conducting operational prototype missions
that not only address real-time JFC
needs, but mature and validate the blueprint
and enabling technologies that will constitute
an operational architecture. Once
demonstrated, the ORS Office will transition
the validated architecture, enablers, and
supporting concept of operations, tactics,
techniques, and procedures to the military
services and/or other national security and
space agencies for full-scale acquisition,
operations, and lifecycle support.
The ORS Office envisions a future capability
for responsive space that models
a U-2 Wing, whereby specific operational
needs are addressed by mating the appropriate
mission kit with a common platform.
Operating system
Computing hardware
Weapon hardware
Day N Day N + 30
Aerospace is supporting the ORS Office in
defining this space-based version of a U-2
Wing that can respond to urgent tactical
needs by mounting “payload mission kits” to
a modular and reconfigurable multimission
spacecraft bus for rapid launch and immediate
operations.
Modular and Open Systems
Approach (MOSA) for ORS
The ORS Office has adopted the Modular
and Open Systems Approach (MOSA)
in pursuing the open architecture and
standards necessary to achieving its goals.
MOSA represents the most promising approach
to achieving the agile end-to-end
space architecture that can rapidly and
efficiently respond to JFC’s urgent needs.
MOSA is an integrated business and
technical strategy based on five primary
principles for developing new systems or
Predator equipped with
Hellfire missile
A Predator unmanned aerial vehicle was augmented with Hellfire missile capabilities in about 30 days for rapid
deployment to Afghanistan. Critical target tracking software was easily rehosted from the line-of-sight antitank
computing environment to the Predator’s because it was built upon the Army’s open weapon system.
modernizing existing ones. These include
establishing an environment conducive to
open system implementation, employing
modular design tenets, defining key interfaces
where appropriate, applying widely
supported consensus-based (open) standards
that are published and maintained
by a recognized industry standards organization,
and using certified conforming
products.
The ORS Office strategy for MOSA
relies heavily upon an extended responsive
space enterprise consisting of military services,
national space agencies, early adopter
development teams, and the overall space
industry. Aerospace is assembling the tools
for a networked community of practice
to both inform and engage the responsive
space enterprise in ORS Office business
decision and systems engineering processes.
This enterprise is a principle driver
Image insets courtesy US Army and NASA
Crosslink Summer 2009 • 13