A modeling process to develop payload operational data

This dissertation addresses the need for and development of a modeling process which will develop a complete set of detailed "representative" payload operational data including timelines, power profiles, crew utilization profiles, venting profiles, logistical items, etc. pertaining to a new or hypothetical payload when supplied with only top-level payload operational data. A modeling process is proposed to accomplish this objective. The underlying hypothesis behind the proposed process is that similar payloads with similar mission objectives will behave in a similar fashion and exhibit similar resource requirements. The proposed process was developed into a computerized system with the aid of a relational data base and the development of Fortran modeling programs. An experiment was performed to validate the proposed process. This experiment consisted of utilizing the computerized system to develop operational data for payloads in which actual operational data was known. The data developed from the process was then compared to the actual data to assess the validity of the process and the hypothesis. The results of the study establish both the hypothesis and the process to be accurate. However, it was found that the process tended to be more qualitative than quantitative in nature.