What is Team X?
Keith Warfield
June 27, 2012
Copyright 2012 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.
What is Team X?
Team X is a concurrent
engineering team for rapid design
and analysis of space mission
concepts
 Developed in 1995 by JPL to reduce
study time and cost
 More than 1100 studies completed
 Institutionally endorsed
 Emulated by many institutions
Team X profiled in Time magazine, October 2005
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Concurrent Engineering – What is it?
 Traditional Method – Serial
Start
Provide
Staff
Subsystem
Design
System
Trades
Cost
End
Delays
 Concurrent Engineering – Parallel
 Diverse specialists working in real time, in the same place, with shared
data, to yield an integrated design
Subsystem Design
System Trades
Start
Cost
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End
How Does Team X Operate?
 People
 About 20 regular “chairs” – each with a lead and at least 2 backups
 Each represents major subsystems of the spacecraft design
 Represent the “doing” orgs
 Usually working on current flight projects too
 Additional experts are added as needed
 Tools
 Each chair has subsystem sizing tools in Excel and exchange data with a common
database through custom VB code
 Tools are endorsed by the “doing” orgs and selected by the chair leads
 Some tools currently in use: STK, Institutional Costs Models, Zemax, @RISK,
Mathcad, SolidWorks, Unigraphics, and JPL proprietary trajectory and EDL tools
 Process
 Structured process is the framework for the study
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Products – Team has a set of standard products, but will generate custom products when requested
Pre-work – non-concurrent work is started in advance of the study
Sessions – 3 hours each. Number and schedule vary depending on the study and products required
Post Study – Work is completed after sessions. SEs and Study Lead responsible for report completion.
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The Mission Team
Systems
Science
Structures
Instruments
Power
Thermal
C & DH
Flight
Software
Attitude
Control
Ground Systems
Telecom
Propulsion
Cost
Mission Design
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The Instrument Team
 Based on the classic Team X paradigm
 Fully equipped, maintained and logistically managed PDC facilities
 Covers the full array of disciplines needed for full concept
development
SFC
Studies typically take 1-3 half
day concurrent design
sessions
UVS
IR Coronagraph
Vis Coronagraph
IR Occulter
IR IFU
Ozone Camera
Fine Guidance Sensors
Aft Metering Structure
•Concept of operation ⇒
•Detection ⇒
•Data volumes and rates ⇒
•Thermo-mechanical sizing ⇒
•Cost
Shutters
T1 / T2
Nuller
Shutter
Phase
Plates
DM1
Results can be seamlessly fed
into full mission concept
studies
Phase
Plates
DM2
Bright
Bright
Dichroic
mirror
ACS Camera
Pupil
Remap
Lens
Pupil Geom.
Camera
DM3
Beam
launcher
Null Beam
Combiner
Assembly
DM Control
Fiber
Bundle
Array
To Pupil Geom
Mechanism
DM Control
T3-4 Dark
Phase Plates
T1-2 Dark
ACS
Camer
a
output
with
pupil
camer
a
allows
Phase
diversi
ty
WFS
as
well!
T3 / T4
Nuller
Phase
stepping
dither
Single
fibers with
matched
properties
as the fiber
bundle
Filters
Lens
compensator
WFS
Camera1
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WFS
Camera2
slit
Science
Camera
Typical Study Options
Concept
Design
Institutional
Cost
Estimate
Red Team
Review
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Design and size a full space mission, platform or instrument
Products: study report including mass, power and cost estimates
Optional Products: configuration images; trajectory visualization; risk reports
Schedule: 6-7 weeks
• Estimate the cost of a full space mission design concept
• Products: study report including cost estimate and its underlying assumptions
• Schedule: 3-4 weeks
• Identify the strengths/weaknesses in an existing space mission or instrument design
• Products: report w/ technical and cost strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats
• Schedule: 1-2 weeks
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What Does Team X Produce?
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Text or Powerpoint Design
Descriptions
Trajectory/Orbit Design
Ground Track Maps
Operations Scenarios and
Timelines
Mass/Power Estimates
Block Diagrams
Parts Lists
Heritage Descriptions
Ground System
Architecture
Data Volume/Rate
Calculations
Link Budgets
Radiation Analysis
Instrument Design
Optics Ray Tracing
Animation
CAD
Thermal FEA
Schedule Estimates
ICM Cost Estimates
Cost Risk S-Curves
Risk Lists/Matrix
Limited Trades
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High Visibility Products for NASA
 Team X supported 16
architecture and mission
concepts for Planetary
Science Decadal Survey
 Team X supported 14
instrument and mission
concepts for ASTRO 2010
Decadal Survey
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