The APL Concurrent Engineering Laboratory: A Unique Approach to Concept Development

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) utilizes the APL Concurrent Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab) to provide an environment in which engineers can work collaboratively to develop innovative and competitive space mission concepts. With a strong focus on the processes, tools, and the team members that participate in concept studies, the ACE Lab offers an environment of high productivity, efficiency, consistency, and rapid conceptual design capability. A study conducted in the Lab consists of staff members who temporarily lend their talents for a specific study and draw upon their experience from current flight programs. By relying on engineers with project experience, unique solutions grounded in practical application better address lessons learned from past missions. A small team initially identifies mission objectives, requirements, and basic mission design. Following project definition, a full team of engineers of various disciplines works concurrently in the ACE Lab to arrive at a technical solution, utilizing a wide array of analysis techniques and tools and an extensive library of previous missions and concept documentation. Programmatic and cost concerns are addressed further in the following weeks. APL’s ACE Lab has successfully supported the recent NRC Planetary Science Decadal Survey, concept development for current projects, numerous NASA proposals, and a variety of collaborative activities with NASA centers. The ACE Lab is a useful environment that combines experienced engineers, powerful tools, and a thoughtful process to produce strong and technically feasible space mission concepts.