A Discrete-Event Simulation Model for Evaluating Air Force Reusable Military Launch Vehicle Prelaunch Operations

As the control and exploitation of space becomes more important to the United States military, a responsive spacelift capability will become essential. Responsive spacelift could be defined as the ability to launch a vehicle within hours or days from the time a launch order is given, instead of the weeks or months it takes currently. As the Air Force contemplates moving toward a reusable military launch vehicle (RMLV) capability, it faces key design and ground processing decisions that will affect the vehicle regeneration timeline. This thesis develops a computer simulation model that mimics RMLV prelaunch operations--those activities that take place during vehicle integration and launch pad operations. This simulation model can help the Air Force make RMLV acquisition decisions by analyzing how different RMLV designs and ground processing scenarios will affect RMLV regeneration time. The model was developed by comparing and contrasting existing launch vehicle processing flows to create the RMLV prelaunch operations model. To foster confidence in model credibility, the model was analyzed and validated by a panel of launch vehicle experts. Model verification was accomplished via an Assertion Checking method that compared model developer intent to actual model operation. The model was used to conduct three experiments that analyzed how different ground processing scenarios affected RMLV regeneration time.