Evaluating the Impact of Design Changes in Remote Sensing Satellites Using Design Structure Matrix

Designing complex systems, especially in the space industry, is accompanied by challenges such as changes in components and their interactions. This article aims to facilitate the design of complex systems by introducing and examining the design structure matrix (DSM). The design structure matrix, by analyzing the relationships between components, helps improve the speed of design and implement optimal changes in systems. This article discusses the features and analyses of this matrix, as well as its limitations and challenges. Two matrices are developed for a remote sensing satellite under study. The first matrix is designed to examine the influence of each component on the design of other components. In this matrix, all components are listed along both the rows and columns (meaning it's a square matrix), and if one component affects the design of another, this influence is indicated in the matrix. These effects are determined by the design team of each subsystem. Furthermore, both direct and indirect effects are considered in the formation of this matrix, and the calculation method is detailed in this paper. The second matrix examines the relationships between different components. These relationships include electrical, mechanical, data, or thermal connections, which are identified based on design blueprints and represented in the matrix. A matrix is also developed to assess the impact of each component on the design of other components, and efforts have been made to make this matrix practical by examining and weighting the effects of components on each other. With the help of these two matrices, the impact of changing one component (adding, removing, or altering the design) on other components is examined. Additionally, for better analysis, a case study is conducted. In this case study, the impact of adding a star sensor to the considered satellite is investigated and required technical changes for supporting on extra star sensor, such as data interface and power line or mechanical interface have been investigated. The defined matrices increase the design speed for more technical and precise analyses and provide the expert with the tool to apply changes in the system in less time and without creating excessive design cycles.