Multidiscipline design as applied to space

The objective of this paper is to look at the spacecraft design process and see how that process balances desired spacecraft features within an imposed set of operational and cost constraints. The constraints often show up as competing multidiscipline interactions, which in their resolution lead to practical spacecraft designs. This paper gives examples of how the design process was implemented in a feasibility design study for NASA's proposed Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), and describes how the project organization was used to effectively deal with multidiscipline design. Orbit selection, spacecraft propulsion, station keeping, and overall mechanical and thermal subsystem designs are discussed as examples of multidisciplinary design optimization. The final section is an across-the-board discussion of multidiscipline design optimization, what its benefits are, what are the negative points and what can be done to improve the process.