James Webb Space Telescope: A System of Systems
Background on NG & James Webb Space Telescope
Northrop Grumman is a company operating within the defense and aerospace industries that work closely with the United States government to create pioneering systems that improve global security and advancement.
Recently, Northrop Grumman has partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the manufacture of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The JWST will enable scientists to learn more about how our universe began- some 13.5 billion years ago (James Webb Space Telescope Observing Cosmic History).
The JWST will allow for “scientific time travel” by employing state-of-the-art technologies — including a mirror large enough to fit 7 Hubble Space Telescopes! The gigantic mirror, near-infrared instruments, and other technologies aboard JWST, will enable scientists to gather information on our universe’s past by observing newly forming stars. Because the optic mirror for the JWST is so large, the mirror will have to be assembled in space. This will make the Webb Space Telescope the first segmented optical system deployed into space.
INCOSE SE Handbook Analysis
The JWST is a system- more accurately a system of systems (SOS). The telescope is “a combination of interacting elements organized to achieve one or more stated purposes” (INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook). An example of some (non-atomic) elements within the JWST system are; the integrated science instrument module (ISIM), the secondary mirror, the primary mirror, the sunshield, and the spacecraft bus (see picture below).
INCOSE also states that all systems must have a purpose — they must provide a solution. As mentioned earlier, the Webb Space Telescope’s purpose is to give astronomers the ability to glean new information to be used to promote a greater understanding of the creation of our universe. The 2 main stakeholders of the Webb Space Telescope are NASA and Northrop Grumman employees assigned to the Webb Mission, and astronomers, worldwide, who are interested in the creation of the universe.
Furthermore, the JWST is a system with many attributes. Two of the telescope’s attributes, when deployed in space, will be temperature and speed. These attributes will have measurable variables. Temperatures in space are often measured in kelvin, and the attribute of speed is often measured in kilometers per hour.
Along with a purpose, a system must have a life cycle (INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook). The “utilization” portion of the life cycle for the Webb Space Telescope has been formally defined as 5 years — up to 10 years. Unfortunately, the “full” life cycle — from development to decommissioning, isn’t published for the JWST.
SOS Challenges
Although we cannot know for certain that the Webb engineers and project managers, at Northrop Grumman and NASA, have a vast understanding of the many possible challenges that arise when working with a SOS (such as the JWST), I can confidently state that basic systems engineering knowledge would help ensure a successful mission for Webb. Even basic systems engineering knowledge, such as what we’ve covered to date in SYST 660, would enable the Webb Team to better understand the necessary capabilities and requirements of the telescope.
For example, the various systems within the larger Webb system will likely have their own requirements. In fact, the requirements of the various subsystems might be inconsistent with the requirements of the space telescope as a whole — the system’s “emergent properties.” The team at Northrop Grumman and NASA must work together to ensure that the Webb Space Telescope’s higher-level objective is met by fine-tuning the requirements of the constituent systems.
Sources
1. James Webb Space Telescope Observing Cosmic History. Northrop Grumman Corporation, 2021, pp. 1–2, https://www.northropgrumman.com/wp-content/uploads/JWST-Datasheet.pdf, Accessed 27 Sept 2021.
2. INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook. 4th ed., INCOSE, 2015, p. 5.
