Model-Based Systems Engineering for CubeSat FMECA

The CubeSat standard has given universities, small companies, developing countries, and others a new gateway to space exploration and space knowledge. Combined with shorter development time and Commercial Off-The-Shelf components, the cost has been lowered considerably. However, the combination of use of low-maturity components and inexperienced development teams results in a short lifetime and poor reliability for most CubeSats. The growth of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) supports reuse of design architectures in many industries and has lowered the costs of development and is gaining popularity in CubeSat teams. This paper demonstrates the application of reliability methods for implementing dependability analysis in MBSE and shows how this can benefit CubeSat teams struggling with limited personnel resources and low experience with space systems.