Date of Award

3-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Systems Engineering and Management

First Advisor

Kip E. Johnson, PhD

Abstract

Rigorous system safety analysis methods, allow programs to identify potential problems helping to minimize their impact to program schedules and budgets. In the contested, congested, and competitive space environment, coordination within and between systems is critical to mission success. System Theoretic Process Analysis extended for Coordination (STPA-coord) can prescriptively analyze these coordination interactions. STPA-coord shifts the conversation of system safety from elements ofreliability to elements of control, providing insights that holistically analyze the system. As studies suggest, decisions made early in a systems design determine 80-86% of a programs final cost, therefore integrating system safety as early into design can benefit not only the success of the system but the program as well. This thesis proposes a framework for creating a safety-driven concept integrating STPA-coord insights into the earliest phase of design. Using an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) autonomous space system as a case study, this thesis presents two articles that first detail the application of STPA-coord and then proposes the Safety-Driven Concept Development (SDCD) Framework. In the first article, we apply STPA-coord to a vertical coordination relationship represented in a model-based environment delivering 139 design constraints. The second article details the proposed three-part SDCD Framework by integrating STPA-coord insights with a well-known concept development Method from Crawley et al. Results of both articles provide an implementation guide for similar remote robotic systems along with data that organizations can use to set realistic expectations for resources, schedules, and complexity.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENV-MS-25-M-053

Comments

An embargo was observed for this posting.

Distribution A: Approved for public release, Distribution Unlimited. PA case number 88ABW-2025-0578

Download

Share

COinS