Earth's orbit is getting more crowded. The modern world's hunger for broadband, satellite radio and GPS systems means organizations are embarking on an increasing number of satellite projects. More than 1,300 satellites are now in orbit, a figure that could double in the next four years, according to the Satellite Industry Association. But the appetite for innovative satellites, the speed with which organizations are hoping to capitalize on the market and the potential for more stringent regulations all put added pressure on teams executing these projects.
“The increasing demand for connectivity and flexibility continues to push us to look at new technologies, production systems and engineering methodologies,” says Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, El Segundo, California, USA.
“The increasing demand for connectivity and flexibility continues to push us to look at new technologies, production systems and engineering methodologies.”
—Mark Spiwak, Boeing Satellite Systems International, El Segundo, California, USA
Boeing has responded to these industry changes by prioritizing innovation in its project designs while reducing complexity in the factory and manufacturing process, Mr. Spiwak says. He points to the company's current project to develop seventh-generation digital technology for the GiSAT satellite, which satellite company Global IP wants to use to provide low-cost broadband network services in Africa. “It will help bring coverage to a significant underserved region of the world,” he says.
Further innovations are on display in China, where the country's space agency launched a satellite in August that can communicate via photons—light particles—instead of radio waves, as the first phase of a broader project to pioneer highly secure quantum communications. “If the first satellite goes well, China will definitely launch more,” Chaoyang Lu, a physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, told Nature.
The third of three Boeing Inmarsat-5 Global Xpress satellites launched in August 2015.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOEING
Other countries are pursuing similar satellite innovations, and as competition and the pressure to be first increase, so do the project risks. This was demonstrated disastrously in March 2016 in Japan, when a software error blamed on poor project management caused the country's Hitomi X-ray astronomy satellite to spin out of control and break into pieces, ending a planned three-year mission after just one month. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President Naoki Okumura admitted there were not enough safeguards built into the project management process to catch the error. Conventional methods “were not necessarily suited for the production of modern satellites and spacecraft,” Mr. Okumura told reporters.
Such project catastrophes not only devastate the organizations that delivered them, they can also add time and cost to future projects if companies face stricter internal or external rules. But rules might be on the rise regardless. In the U.S., some members of Congress have proposed new regulations in response to managing satellite traffic (not necessarily project failures). These rules could add greater safety and controls, but many fear they would complicate project schedules and financing.
Rendering of Japan's Hitomi X-ray astronomy satellite
Complying with satellite regulations is just one risk management aspect on these projects, says Marc Segarra, PMP, project manager, Infineon Technologies, Munich, Germany. (Mr. Segarra worked as a project manager at TRYO Aerospace & Electronics until September; Infineon makes semiconductors, including for satellites.) He argues that adhering to a predefined project scope in such an innovative industry can be the biggest challenge. “During program execution, a lot of technical unknowns appear, and thus scope must be dynamically updated in relation to cost and schedule,” he says. His team minimizes these challenges by performing a thorough risk analysis as part of the proposal stage of every project.
“The space industry is a pioneer in the implementation of project management methodology, which helps us keep risks and schedules well under control.”
—Marc Segarra, PMP, Infineon Technologies, Munich, Germany
That only takes his team so far, though. “Changes are inevitable; the question is how you handle them,” he says. To bolster organizational agility, he advocates building strong reaction capability into the team dynamic, establishing transparent information-sharing channels across the team, and providing regular project asset updates to stakeholders. “Good communication can help teams minimize the impact of unknowns.”
Driving innovation while controlling these risks can mitigate the chance of disasters. And the industry has the talent to make that happen, Mr. Segarra says. “The space industry is a pioneer in the implementation of project management methodology, which helps us keep risks and schedules well under control.” —Sarah Fister Gale