MARSYAS: a software system for the digital simulation of physical systems

New aerospace systems which are likely to be developed in the next decade such as the Space Shuttle Vehicle and Space Station will be used for more versatile missions; they will be more autonomous and independent from ground operations; and therefore, their design will be more complex than that of present space flight systems. In order to design these new systems optimally for all mission phases, extensive design analyses, evaluations, and trade-off studies have to be performed before a design can be finalized. This means that many simulations of various degrees of depth have to be run to test all possible mission conditions. Thereafter, the integrated hardware and software systems have to undergo extensive testing and checkout before they are flight ready.