Poster
Client Context
Axiom Space
Axiom is a privately held American spaceflight company focused on providing commercial access to low Earth orbit. As part of their operations, Axiom plans and operates missions, including organizing and sending cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom currently has two employees packing all cargo for their operations and would like to incorporate software into its system aid in replicating its current manual packing arrangement process.
Paccurate
Paccurate is a startup that makes software to find the cheapest way to configure items into boxes based on carrier rates. Currently, their clients include retailers, 3PL, and warehouses. Axiom would like to incorporate Paccurate into their cargo packing system however, the objectives used for packing a bag to space are different from the objectives Paccurate natively solves for.
Project Objective
Our project objective was to bridge the gap between Paccurate and Axiom and provide a basis for implementation.
Design Strategy
To build this basis, our team interviewed employees at Axiom to understand the current system used for packing bags. We used the data gathered in these interviews to unambiguously define the current system and model the recommended system using SysML. These models were validated in workshops between Axiom and our team.
After defining the system, we consolidated the hard constraints – such as ‘all items must fit within a bag’ – that must be accounted for during packing into one document. This list grew throughout the semester as the team uncovered new constraints.
In addition to hard constraints, packers at Axiom have objectives for how items are to be packed. In order to measure and compare these objectives our team mathematically defined four KPIs. These KPIs were individually validated using a sample set of items from a previous launch.
Finally, our team designed a SQL database to allow Axiom to reduce their reliance on NASA and easily interface with the Paccurate API.
Deliverables
Our primary deliverable was a “Packing Specification” that provides Paccurate a framework to begin working on implementing their software at Axiom. The Packing Specification includes a detailed SysML description of the system that will be used, a list of all the constraints that were defined, and the mathematical formulations used to measure the KPIs.
Currently, Axiom Space’s IT team is in the process of building a company-wide database. We provided Axiom with the documentation and resources for their IT team to incorporate our SQL database directly into their database.
Value and Impact
We provided value to our three stakeholders in the following ways:
Axiom
- Consolidated knowledge base across the department and for any future employees or partners
- In-house database for more control and convenience of launch data
Paccurate
- Clear implementation approach for them to solve the “Space Logistics” problem most effectively
- New features developed in the implementation process could be used for future partners
Astronauts
- Decreased estimated distance for unpacking by up to 50% from manual process.
Project Information
Student Team
Andrea Acosta
Samy Amer
Abraham Angel
Albania Buckner
Andrew Jarcik
Nicholas Revelos
Alec Russin
Faculty Advisor
Faculty Evaluator
