More than 50 years after working with NASA on the聽Apollo program, our aerospace engineering and聽cybersecurity聽experts are helping the future of spaceflight take off.聽We spoke with some of our visionary engineers working on Artemis, a mission to go back to the Moon鈥攖he first step in creating a lunar outpost for a flight to Mars.
In 2005, NASA started the Constellation program to take human space exploration farther. Expanding on the aerospace engineering practice we had created for the International Space Station (ISS), we brought on experienced engineers who had worked on the space shuttle and other programs.
The team performed major technical services for the program, including transforming mission command and control systems and training simulators. 鈥溎⒐绞悠� Allen had provided systems integration work in the 1990s for the ISS, and now we were doing architecture design and requirements for those systems for the Constellation program,鈥� says Chief Technologist Gary Dockall. The Constellation program was cancelled in 2009鈥攂ut not before concepting the main elements of what would become Artemis a decade later.
Modernizing Mission Control
As with every engagement, 蘑菇视频 Allen merged talent with technology. For example, we were tasked with building requirements to update Johnson Space Center鈥檚 mission planning system, which still used Apollo-era components. Tony Zertuche, who was our engineering lead for the project, had worked at NASA, so he brought on Specialist Hal Beck, who had led a missions planning team for the Apollo program and so could ensure strategic continuity for the upgrade.聽
More than a decade after Constellation鈥檚 cancellation, a new program is now capturing the public鈥檚 imagination: Artemis, the next Moon mission. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working on all the major elements,鈥� says Rob Puckett, engineering lead for 蘑菇视频 Allen鈥檚 NASA work. 鈥淲e help integrate the work of contractors at Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Kennedy Space Flight Center. The centers have different cultures and slightly different processes, and we help bridge that gap.鈥�
Here are some highlights of our work:
Space Launch System
For the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, we provide systems engineering integration to manage the vehicle鈥檚 interfaces with those of Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), the Kennedy Space Center launch complex. Our engineers handle all requirements for electrical, mechanical, and fluid 鈥渦mbilicals.鈥� For the EGS, we also perform configuration management, managing the baseline of subsystems and ground support equipment.
The team also provides systems engineering and integration for the commercial crew program, supporting missions like the SpaceX Dragon II's flight bringing astronauts to the International Space Station. 鈥淜ennedy Space Center is now a multi-user spaceport,鈥� says Kevin Ingoldsby, a senior lead engineer who has supported space programs there for decades and is now leading our EGS support. 鈥淲hat we envisioned years ago is finally coming true.鈥�
Orion Capsule
Our support for the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle (MPCV) includes hardware-software integration and testing between Orion, the SLS, and the EGS. The exploration program is based on the architecture and lessons learned from the Apollo mission. The basic vehicle configurations, capsule sitting on top of the rocket, and interfaces are very similar, just using the latest technology.
We also provide data visualization鈥攚orking on trajectories for a flight to the Moon, as we did more than 50 years ago, but this time with leading-edge analytics. 鈥淲e speed up analysis of complex data sets and use an automated data pipeline to quickly visualize the best day to launch,鈥� says Senior Lead Engineer Tony Garza. 鈥淭he Artemis-1 trajectory is more complicated than Apollo鈥檚, which leads to more data output. And on the first crewed mission, Artemis-2, we鈥檒l probably go the farthest from Earth a manned spacecraft has ever gone. Data science and visualization will help ensure we use trajectories that get our crew home safely.鈥�
Gateway Lunar Space Station
For Gateway, the station that will orbit the Moon, we鈥檙e supporting a new lunar exploration architecture that鈥檚 sustainable鈥攗sable for multiple missions. In addition to systems engineering and integration, we鈥檙e working on digital modernization. Our engineers are helping NASA transition its documentation to a digital model that captures every element from requirements to the physical structure and shows how changes to one affects the other.
Support Across Programs
Why has NASA turned to 蘑菇视频 Allen, decade after decade? 鈥淲e bring strategic thinking across programs,鈥� says Karen Fields, a program analyst and senior program manager for space exploration. 鈥淲e help with everything from assessing rocket engines to developing requirements for the lunar lander.鈥�
Rob says, 鈥淎 customer recently told me, 鈥榃e hire you guys because you get things done.鈥� That鈥檚 been our history: We partner with the client to solve their problems, and we innovate with our solutions.鈥�
