TPF-C Technology Plan - Exoplanet Exploration Program - NASA

Chapter 5
TPF-C is planning a suite of ground testbeds through which various aspects of the models and
simulations will be verified and validated. Because it will be difficult, if not expensive or
impossible, to duplicate the expected on-orbit environment, a large part of the technology
development effort will be devoted to validating scaling and sensitivities of models. Technology
developed on these testbeds will then be carried later into the ground testing activity of the actual
flight system, as required by the Verification and Validation (V&V) process in Phase B and
beyond.
Model validation needs will not push the performance levels of the testbeds beyond what is
required from the flow down of the error budget. However, model validation will influence the
design of the testbeds in that they will need a sufficient level of adjustability, modularity and
testing flexibility to investigate the existence of the individual physics contributing to the
analytical predictions, to their sensitivities, and to their scalability. Capabilities will be
introduced in the applicable testbeds to investigate the modeling of the interfaces between
components. It is also expected that these testbeds will be instrumental in uncovering “unknown
unknowns” not initially anticipated in the models, and to that effect, there will be a continuous
process within the model validation activity to re-evaluate what critical physics or assumptions
have not yet been incorporated into the analyses.
Previous sections have outlined the link between the various testbed measurements and model
validation. The exact details on the testing approach and performance levels required for model
validation will be defined through a scheduled ongoing process of flowing down, through
Figure 5-1. TPF-C Modeling and Simulation Roadmap.
82