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A digital engineering program developed by the ����ֱ�� Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, is helping U.S. space agencies protect satellites and other systems vital to national security.

The APL-developed modeling, simulation and analysis tool leverages model-based systems engineering and digital engineering to help decision-makers identify practical and strategic approaches to guarding critical operational assets. Users can simulate how national security systems respond to various space events, allowing them to better understand a system’s strengths and potential shortcomings.

“We provide a suite of analyses that identifies where functional and technology gaps exist in the nation’s space command and control architecture so that our sponsors can make informed choices on how to maximize their systems,” said Michaelyn Thomas, who manages the program at APL. The model is rooted in detailed joint fires and space operations doctrine. As part of the space command and control environment, the model aids critical and action-based decisions for the warfighter in dynamic environments.

Given a particular type of threat, for example, the APL team runs a simulation to map out an entire process from identifying the potential threat to determining the best response. Multiple government stakeholders, including the U.S. Space Force, use the model and its analyses to study how their systems operate within the mission and to measure system performance holistically.

“Our model tries to identify the functions that an agency needs to consider,” said Grace Colonell, the program’s co-technical lead at APL. “When we compare those options to what’s actually available, we can identify potential gaps.”

In this manner, the simulations allow APL experts to pinpoint areas where an agency can improve its space security infrastructure and provide guidance on which adjustments planners should prioritize.

“It’s our way of saying, from start to finish, how we would respond to a range of potential scenarios,” said Mario Lento, the program’s documentation lead at APL.

Thomas notes the model’s capability to tackle a broad range of scenarios through simulation and analysis to provide a more complete view of a challenge.

“The APL model helps sponsors from both a prioritization and affordability standpoint because we’ve already done the technical groundwork,” she said. “Now it’s just what type of additional analysis do the sponsors need to fulfill their goals.”

APL analyses and expertise in digital engineering and system-of-systems engineering have proven critical in helping sponsors protect their national security space infrastructures.

“People can look up to the sky and see the stars,” Lento said, “but there is also a lot of technology up there that plays a pivotal role in our daily lives and needs to be defended and protected.”