As any typical change management initiative, the Digital Spacecraft must be fully supported by top management in both ESA and industry to ensure that the required resources are allocated. The perimeter of this initiative is quite large and is structured in three main axes of interventions:

1. Processes digitalization – “a staged approach”
2. Digital Spacecraft Project-related activities
3. ESA Digital Spacecraft IT platform
4. R&D activities related to Digitalisation

Note: The approach below is illustrated with engineering discipline. In parallel, it must be done with planning, control, management, infrastructure, etc.

1. Processes digitalization as “a Staged Approach”

To succeed in this challenging endeavour, it is crucial that change should only be progressive, in the respect of each stakeholder’s experience and existing investment. It is proposed to proceed in several steps and axes:

In the technical domain:

1. Digitalisation of disciplines, allowing technical experts to identify their processes and their data model, as well as the specific engineering tools that they use,
2. Connection of the system engineering and the domain specific disciplines, aiming to reach digital continuity across disciplines, by making the processes seamless, the data models consistent and the tools interoperable,

Related to the Supply chain:

1. Initialisation of the supply chain by having harmonisation between Agencies and Large Space Integrators on the data models (ontology) and the process models (both eventually reflected in ECSS standardisation), by developing interoperability between tools and models, and by adapting accordingly their way of working with respect to e.g. reviews, project management or procurement, with focus on the data exchanged at each step of the process.
2. Digital continuity along the complete supply chain with LSIs sub-contractors, according to the technical domains and subsystem expertise.

Related to Management:

1. Promoting the transition from electronic exchange of documents to a tool/assistant allowing for the retrieval or the generation of the required information and allowing to access, synthetize, navigate into a structured information database and to create custom reports
2. Digital continuity to facilitate efficient tracking and tracing of evolution of requirements, SOW, contracts and mapping of deliverables against process
3. Introduction of a common ESA-Industry controlling Dashboard to provide a real-time overview to the stakeholders

2. Digital Spacecraft Project-related activities

Specific pilots to test & learn about new ways of working and/or new solutions are necessary before any deployment at scale. Furthermore, pilots will find out risks, opportunities and costs for future use in ESA missions.

3. ESA Digital Spacecraft IT Platform

The current processes and tools should evolve to support spacecraft development and operations in a digital way, both at ESA and industry. This evolution must preserve the elements that have yielded the long and successful record of space missions. The ESA internal reflection shall start based on industrial experience on digital transformation. In particular, interfaces and new way of working with different stakeholders must be defined.This is the role of the Data Management group

4. Digitalisation-related R&D activities

In order to mature technologies, ontology (a common language intended to facilitate interoperability of tools) and data models, enhancing the instantiation and utilisation of the Digital Spacecraft (such as MBSE, Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining, Model Identification, IoT, etc.), the coordination of current R&D activities must be strengthened not only through the network of Competence Domains. This ensures that the planned activities are performed respecting the defined scope, time and budget.

In parallel, major players in spacecraft development and operations must work together to ensure the definition of specific protocols to exchange both engineering and management data and their formalisation in standards. Aiming at supporting interoperability, the standards for data modelling and exchange should not constrain the Agency or Industry to use any specific tool.