Virtual Satellite is an internal DLR project of the Institute for Software Technology and the Institute of Space Systems that started in 2007. Originally started with the aim of supporting the construction and integration of spacecraft with digital simulated models, it has quickly become an important tool for the early development phases and collaboration in the Concurrent Engineering Facility (CEF) in Bremen. This is the birthplace of new space missions and vehicles, where the creation of a common digital representation of the system is critical. This collaborative element is at the heart of Virtual Satellite.
Virtual Satellite 3 and Virtual Satellite 4 are the result of continuous development. Both versions provide powerful tools to support the design, development and production of future spacecraft. They are based on the Eclipse rich client platform and are developed and written in a modern software engineering environment based on the Java programming language.
Virtual Satellite is used in the Concurrent Engineering Facility.
In particular, Virtual Satellite 3 focused on facilitating collaboration at the Concurrent Engineering Facility (CEF) in Bremen. The software version was designed to help engineers with design studies and to enable the collaborative creation of a digital spacecraft design. Although deliberately kept simple, it offers enough flexibility to be creative without distracting from the main task of spacecraft design.
Beyond the day-to-day work in the CEF, Virtual Satellite has also pioneered new directions such as continuous verification and visual vehicle configuration. The software has been developed for the CEF in close collaboration with the Space Segment System Analysis Department.
Virtual Satellite 4 is a completely redesigned platform. A flexible data model allows it to be adapted to individual engineering tasks and project requirements. This model can be extended with various concepts that can be loaded and activated from a 'concept store'. There are three main product lines:
Virtual Satellite 4 Research enables PhD students to develop their own applications
Powered by Virtual Satellite 4 offers tailor-made extensions for specific projects
In addition, Virtual Satellite serves as a platform for advanced methodological research in space systems engineering. It investigates modelling methods, formal verification and model interactions. It also explores new approaches such as interactive 3D visualisation, smart devices, mobile applications, speech recognition and mixed reality hardware for mission planning.
Overall, Virtual Satellite contributes to the digitisation of the entire spacecraft lifecycle and the realisation of the Industry 4.0 vision in the space sector.
