Systems engineering and application of system performance modeling in SIM Lite Mission

Abstract

The SIM Lite Astrometric Observatory will be the first space-based Michelson interferometer operating in the visible wavelength, with the ability to perform ultra-high precision astrometric measurements on distant celestial objects. SIM Lite data will address in a fundamental way questions such as characterization of Earth-mass planets around nearby stars. To accomplish these goals it is necessary to rely on a model-based systems engineering approach – much more so than most other space missions. This paper will describe in further detail the components of this end-to-end performance model, called “SIM-sim”, and show how it has helped the systems engineering process.