Immersive Engineering for the Future of Space Mission Design

Challenge

Early-phase space mission design brings together specialists from multiple engineering disciplines who need to understand complex spacecraft configurations, system relationships and mission constraints at the same time. Traditional 2D interfaces and remote collaboration tools can make it difficult to communicate spatial information and understand how design decisions affect the spacecraft as a whole. Working with the European Space Agency, the ISDE project explored how immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality and Extended Reality could enhance the Concurrent Design Facility environment - improving spatial understanding while enabling engineers working remotely or on-site to collaborate around the same engineering model.

Approach

Nord Space and the project partners developed a hybrid Immersive Space Design Environment (ISDE) combining desktop and XR-based engineering workflows. The project brought together a simplified 3D spacecraft configuration editor, orbital-context visualization and integration with ESA's COMET Model-Based Systems Engineering environment. Engineers can create and manipulate spacecraft elements in 3D, investigate spatial constraints, visualise field-of-view and orbital vectors, and connect geometry with engineering parameters stored in COMET. A multi-user architecture allows desktop and XR participants to work within the same shared engineering environment, while the system was designed around ESA requirements for performance, security, traceability and integration with existing engineering workflows.

Outcome

The project resulted in a prototype framework demonstrating how immersive technology can become part of the systems-engineering workflow rather than simply serving as a visualisation tool. ISDE provides a foundation for engineers to explore spacecraft configurations spatially, collaborate across disciplines and connect 3D representations directly with Model-Based Systems Engineering data. The project also established the technical architecture and roadmap required to further develop the concept towards an operational engineering environment — including support for larger engineering models, deeper MBSE integration, distributed collaboration and future applications across a broader part of the mission lifecycle. ISDE demonstrates a path toward a more immersive, collaborative and intuitive way of designing complex space systems.

Capabilities applied