A Formal Method for Early Spacecraft Design Verification

Abstract

Abstract—In the early design phase of a spacecraft, various aspects of the system under development are described and modeled using parameters such as masses, power consumption or data rates. In particular power and data parameters are special since their values can change depending on the spacecrafts operational mode. These mode-dependent parameters can be easily verified to static requirements like a maximum data rate. Such quick verifications allow the engineers to check the design after every change they apply. In contrast, requirements concerning the mission lifetime such as the amount of downlinked data during the whole mission, demands a more complex procedure. We propose an executable model together with a simulation framework to evaluate complex mission scenarios. In conjunction with a formalized specification of mission requirements it allows a quick verification by means of formal methods.