Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) case study was developed by the United States Air Force Center for Systems Engineering (AF CSE) located at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), and is accessible through the following url: http://www.afit.edu/cse/cases.cfm?case=18&a=detail. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a 2.4 meter reflecting telescope deployed in low earth orbit that has the ability to observe objects in the optical, ultraviolet, and near infrared wavelengths. According to the HST case study, the telescope was planned for retirement in 2010, but additional work on the orbiting unit in 2009 (after the case study was written and released) has extended the life until approximately 2014. There is some question as to how the HST will be retired and the final plans are still to be determined.

Application domains: Aerospace, Space, Communications, Exploration, Innovative Technology, System of Systems

Application area: Product

Domain Background

The HST case study includes a brief discussion of the space industry, the progression of telescope development and capability, and other applicable areas.

Analysis of Case Study

The United States Air Force Center for Systems Engineering (AF CSE), established in 2002 at AFIT, was tasked to develop case studies focusing on the application of systems engineering principles within various aerospace programs. (Mattice 2005) The Hubble Space telescope is one of four initial case studies selected by AFIT for development in support of systems engineering graduate school instruction. Each of the case studies employs the Friedman-Sage framework that is comprised of the following nine concept domains:

1. Requirements Definition and Management
2. Systems Architecting and Conceptual Design
3. System and Subsystem Detailed Design and Implementation
4. Systems and Interface Integration
5. Validation and Verification
6. Deployment and Post Deployment
7. Life Cycle Support
8. Risk Assessment and Management
9. System and Program Management

The HST case study also populates a matrix using the Friedman-Sage (Friedman and Sage 2004) nine concept domain framework in the context of the three areas of responsibility listed below:

1. SE Contractor Responsibility
2. Shared Responsibility
3. Government Responsibility

The Friedman-Sage framework is used in the HST case study in several areas including in the discussion of Risk and Systems Engineering Management in relation to Learning Principle 5 (see Learning Principles, below), and in the Summary of the case study.

Case Study Description

Learning Principles

The HST case study derived five Learning Principles (LPs) that address the more broadly applicable areas of systems engineering knowledge that are addressed by the case study. These five LPs inform the areas of the SEBoK that are most strongly related to the case study. These five areas are:

• Stakeholder Requirements Definition (LP1),
• Planning (Pre-Program Trade Studies) (LP2),
• System Integration (LP3),
• Life Cycle Model Management (LP4), and
• Risk Management (LP5).

In addition, the HST case study provides a comprehensive perspective on the systems engineering life cycle , taking the reader through a historical context that begins decades before the HST program was officially started, to just beyond the first four HST servicing missions that took place in December 1993, February 1997, December 1999 and March 2002. The HST case study is related to the SEBoK as described in the following sections.

Stakeholder Requirements Definition

Learning Principle 1 of the HST case study states, “Early and full participation by the customer/user throughout the program is essential to success.” (p. vi, 6, 20-21) The lesson learned related to the importance of stakeholder involvement on the HST project was primarily caused by failure to follow this systems engineering principle early on in the system development stage and the consequences of that oversight to the overall development and successful deployment of the system.

Planning

Learning Principle 2 of the HST case study states, “The use of Pre-Program Trade Studies [“Phased Studies or “Phased Project Planning” in NASA parlance at the time] to broadly explore technical concepts and alternatives is essential and provides for a healthy variety of inputs from a variety of contractors and government (NASA) centers.” (p. vi, 6, 21-23) This learning principle relates strongly to the impact of non-technical factors on the successful funding of the HST and, consequently, implementation of critical trade studies early in the process. The lesson learned here was to put the technical requirements of the program above the political churn of competing organizations. Also, the areas of the case study that address the Friedman-Sage framework in the concept domain of System and Program Management fit under this topic.

Systems Integration

Learning Principle 3 of the HST case study states, “A high degree of systems integration to assemble, test, deploy, and operate the system is essential to success and must be identified as a fundamental program resource need as part of the program baseline.” (p. vi, 7, 23-33) The integration challenges of the HST were present throughout the program development. Also the areas of the case study that address the Friedman-Sage framework in the concept domain of Systems and Interface Integration fit under this topic.

Life Cycle Models

The HST case study takes the reader through the life cycle of the product development from system concept through to deployment, sustainment and the current operational state of the system. Sections of the case study cover the historical context as well as the procurement and development and subsequent contract award. A timeline is included that begins in 1962 and ends the year of the first service mission, 1993. The case study does not provide much information on retirement, which is understandable since the system has not yet been retired. The recommendation is to update the case study to reflect the latest events, such as the failure of the primary service module and the 2009 service mission, and to discuss the current operational state of the HST and the impact of the retirement of the Shuttle program on the future sustainment of the system.

The case study also includes an analysis that answers the question: “Was the HST, as a total program, a true systems engineering success and what lessons were learned?” (p. 43) The mixed set of responses are provided by going through specific questions around the concept domains provided in the Friedman-Sage framework.

Learning Principle 4 of the HST case study states that, "Life Cycle Support planning and execution must be integral from day one, including concept and design phases." (p. vii, 7, 33-37) The primary example of this was the ability to replace the faulty mirror, a completely unanticipated error in the system design, early in the system operational life cycle, in order to bring the telescope to full operation. A second example of this is the service module design – with a primary and a backup – and the redefining of the latest 2009 service mission where the non-functional primary service module was replaced, extending the life of the system even further. The areas of the case study that address the Friedman-Sage framework in the concept domain of Life Cycle Support fit under this topic.

Risk Management

Learning Principle 5 of the HST case study states, “For complex programs, the number of players (government and contractor) demands that the program be structured to cope with high risk factors in many management and technical areas simultaneously.” (p vii, 7, 37-42) The example given in the HST case study to support this principle that in which Lockheed Martin was held responsible for the risk of the optical systems even though Perkin-Elmer was the technical expert in optical systems on the program. This inevitably led to the HST being put into orbit with the primary mirror defect still undetected. The areas of the case study that address the Friedman-Sage framework in the concept domain of Risk Assessment and Management fit under this topic.

Summary

The HST case study provides a comprehensive perspective on the systems engineering life cycle, and can be used for detailed instruction in the areas of Stakeholder Requirements Definition, Technical Planning (Pre-Program Trade Studies), System Integration, Life Cycle Model Management, and Risk Management. Further, the HST case study is an provides a useful example of the rising cost of defect correction through successive life cycle phases, demonstrating how an error (in test fixture specification) that could have been fixed for $1,000 at the design stage or detected and fixed with a $10 million investment in an end-to-end test of the telescope on the ground, ended up costing $1 billion to fix when the system was in service.

References

Citations

Friedman, G. and A. Sage. 2004. Case Studies of Systems Engineering and Management in Systems Acquisition. Systems Engineering 7, No. 1: 84-96.

Mattice, J. 2005. Hubble Space Telescope Systems Engineering Case Study. United States Air Force Center for Systems Engineering. Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Available at, <http://www.afit.edu/cse/cases.cfm?case=18&a=detail>.

Primary References

No primary references have been identified for version 0.5. Please provide any recommendations on additional references in your review.

Additional References

No additional references have been identified for version 0.5. Please provide any recommendations on additional references in your review.

---

Article Discussion

[Go to discussion page]

<- Previous Article | Parent Article | Next Article ->

Signatures

--Hdavidz 00:42, 15 August 2011 (UTC)