5.6.1 The Aerospace Corporation's Concept Design Center

The Concept Design Center (CDC) developed by The Aerospace Corporation has enhanced support to its customers by providing a process for bringing together the conceptual design capabilities and experts throughout The Aerospace Corporation. The members meet as a group on an as-needed basis in a computer laboratory to create and evaluate conceptual designs in a synergistic and concurrent manner. The CDC consists of a number of teams, each of which focuses on a different segment of the mission. This paper will focus on the general characteristics of the CDC and on the Space Segment Team (SST) whose primary function is the conceptual design of the spacecraft.