The design and operation of modern spacecraft are becoming increasingly complex, requiring new approaches to manage their lifecycle effectively. Starforge, an generic integration platform that creates a natural language interface to the engineering stack, addresses these challenges by integrating SysMLv2, Rule-Based design methods, and an AI-first design to support the creation of flexible, software-defined systems (e.g. spacecraft, harvesters, drones). By leveraging a mission design language, Starforge enables engineers to design, simulate, and evolve mission architectures while maintaining consistency and traceability across engineering disciplines.

The Starforge architecture decouples mission design from specific engineering tools, allowing teams to focus on solving mission-critical challenges. The architecture supports the refinement of mission fidelity through evolving models, bridging early conceptual designs with detailed simulations. Its approach ensures that design and operational decisions remain grounded in a unified framework, enhancing collaboration and adaptability throughout the spacecraft’s lifecycle.

Robert Karban is the CTO at Planetary Utilities, a space systems infrastructure provider, and a former Principal Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), specializing in model-based systems engineering (MBSE). With over 30 years of experience, he has led high-impact projects, including developing executable SysML models for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and JPL’s Endurance Lunar Rover mission. His contributions to MBSE have earned him recognition, including two JPL Voyager Awards and INCOSE’s “Achieving the Systems Engineering Vision” award.

As an educator, Robert teaches MBSE and digital engineering courses at Caltech CTME and has trained engineers at NASA, JPL, and industry partners. He co-founded OpenMBEE, an open-source platform for collaborative modeling, and co-chaired the SysML Revision Task Force at the Object Management Group (OMG). A frequent speaker and contributor to the MBSE community, Robert continues to advance systems engineering through innovative modeling and simulation methodologies.

Robert holds a Master’s in Computer Science from the University of Technology, Vienna, Austria