Systems Engineering Approach to Reusable Launch Vehicle

Fully Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) has become imperative in growing competitive space technology market, and the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is conceived as a first step towards realization of RLV. The paper utilizes Systems Engineering (SE) approach to develop a mathematical model for evaluating various feasible alternatives in the process of realizing the first stage of RLV. The proposed model determines quantitatively the Overall Systems Value (OSV) of RLV-TD from an integrated prospective of performance, life cycle cost effectiveness, schedule attainment and risk/reliability assurance. The model assists management decision-making on optimal system design and its realization. Several interesting applications of the proposed model for future system analysis have also been cited and is expected to lead to an effective mission operation within the general framework of the ‘Faster, Cheaper, and Better’ paradigm.