TABLE OF CONTENTS The law of conceptualization states that a system which serves another cannot be defined and modeled until a definition and model of the systems served are available.
Peter Checkland, System Thinking, Systems Practice
The distinction between the "real" world and simulation will increasingly blur as more complex simulations for space develop. The need to simulate and model complex phenomena more accurately has accelerated because analysts must reduce these problems to terms people can use to make decisions. Planners have made decisions based on simulations for decades, and this trend is likely to continue. The only thing growing faster than global aerospace technology is the appetite for the next generation of products and the services they provide. As analysts improve their ability to accurately simulate known phenomena, they are discovering the significance of omissions made for simplicity or ignorance of unknown phenomena.
Although space once drove much rapid technology growth, it now competes with more Earth-based approaches, such as using uncrewed aerial vehicles or extensive fiber-optic networks that provide communications in roles satellites usually serve. The prolonged development time between inception and full deployment on orbit has been a burden for space designs. Modeling and simulation (M&S) must help to reduce development time and technical risk while making the space-system solutions more competitive and complementary with a user's needs. Space M&S must therefore evolve to maintain a...
