Satellite Constellation End-of-Life Dependability Assessment with AltaRica 3.0

The space industry has recently witnessed a surge in constellation-based programs. These new generation projects, characterised by their large scale and significantly shortened development cycles, require manufacturers to adapt to a pace that markedly differs from that of traditional space missions. One of the key features of such constellations is the integration of technologies not originally developed for space applications. A major challenge thus lies in reliably assessing the dependability of these technologies and the systems that incorporate them. Industrial stakeholders such as Thales Alenia Space (TAS) are actively investigating innovative approaches to address this issue [SE 8 260][SE 1 221] .

In this context, and with the objective of supporting the development of future communication or navigation constellations, it is relevant to explore emerging methodologies such as Model-Based Safety Assessment (MBSA). This approach to reliability engineering is increasingly gaining traction within the engineering community, although it remains an area of active research and development. MBSA is designed to complement traditional reliability and safety analyses. It aims not only to deliver comparable results more efficiently, but also to offer novel tools for system analysis. The method relies on explicitly modelling failure propagation through systems using dedicated modelling languages. As a relatively recent technique, MBSA fosters improved collaboration between systems engineers and reliability specialists, particularly in the context of constellation architectures where complexity and scalability are key considerations. The present study has two primary objectives: first, to evaluate the relevance and practical benefits of the MBSA methodology in the context of a...