Open, publicly available standards have a vital role to play in achieving interoperability and are an important area of focus in the Arrowhead Tools project. Spacecraft development is a domain that inevitably generates enormous volumes of data during the multiple phases of design, testing and development. It is crucial that this data is readily available to be used as needed in a range of systems to ensure that operations future developments are able to proceed as efficiently as possible.

DEFINE (Multidisciplinary 3D Digital models for AIT environment), Jotne's new project for ESA, will deploy a standardized format for digital models and simulation data for spacecraft development. The DEFINE project will utilize ISO 10303 (STEP) and more specifically its application protocol AP 209:Application protocol: Multidisciplinary analysis and design. This will improve the efficiency of the spacecraft assembly, integration and test procedures.

"One of the challenges in the DEFINE project is the large number of different simulation and 3D tools that are in use, with no standard for making them mutually compatible and accessible, The response to this is to use open, international and publicly available standards", says Kjell Bengtsson, Vice President at Jotne.

These models often contain different kinds of information at different levels of detail. Thus, defining an electronic format capable of maintaining the "as tested" configuration of the spacecraft, from computer simulations at the planning stage, through assembly of the spacecraft, to the pre-flight testing at ESTEC, will be crucial.

Some of the tools to be integrated into DEFINE are: tools for 3D CAD (e.g. Catia, Solidworks, NX...) Thermal and Optical simulations (e.g. Nastran, Lighttool...) and sensors' set-up/test data acquired on the test floor.

Read more about ESA and the DEFINE project here:
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/ESA-Focus-on-ISO-Standards.html?soid=1103697758295&aid=RbtmVtUE7fo