Data-Oriented Modeling for Spacecraft Design

A new research paper proposes a radical shift in how spacecraft are designed, aiming to tackle the persistent problem of high development costs. Authored by NASA's Nathan Strange, the paper introduces a data-oriented modeling approach that replaces traditional, complex Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools. The core innovation is the adaptation of the Entity-Component-System (ECS) architecture, a paradigm famously used to manage complexity in large-scale video games like those from Unity and Unreal Engine. This move away from object-oriented programming's rigid class hierarchies and mutable state promises a more flexible and integrable foundation for systems engineering.

The prototype implementation, named VVERDAD, demonstrates the concept on an example interplanetary mission. In this system, all design data is stored as immutable, format-agnostic "components" within a generic data system. Discipline-specific analysis tools then operate as stateless functions on this data, connected through templates and containerization within a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. This architecture decouples data from logic, making it easier to plug in new analysis tools, run automated tests, and maintain a clear audit trail. The result is a framework that seeks to combine the traceability benefits of old-school document-based engineering with the agility of modern software practices, potentially unlocking faster, cheaper, and more reliable spacecraft development cycles.