Model-based systems engineering is essential for the design of space systems. It allows engineers from multiple domains to collaborate by establishing a common system model. However, the shift towards fragmented, cloud-based services underscores a transition from tool-centric to data-centric approaches. This evolution amplifies the need for robust interoperability and challenges the traditional concept of a centralized “single source of truth.” In this talk, we will explore the application of model-based methods in space system design and highlight current challenges like the transition to service-based cloud infrastructures, interoperability between these services and the integration of new cross-cutting concerns like sustainability, cybersecurity or the application of AI methods.

Prof. Michael Felderer is the Director of the Institute for Software Technology at German Aerospace Center (DLR) and full professor at the University of Cologne. His fields of expertise and interest include software testing and quality assurance, security engineering, research software engineering as well as software engineering for AI, simulation, and quantum technologies. He was associate professor at the University of Innsbruck (Austria), guest professor at the Blekinge Institute of Technology (Sweden) as well as CEO of the academic spin-off QE LaB Business Services. His research is performed in close collaboration with companies and directed towards the development and evaluation of efficient and effective methods to improve the quality, trustworthiness and value of industrial software systems and processes. Michael Felderer has co-authored more than 150 publications and received 14 best paper awards. He is recognized by the Journal of Systems and Software (JSS) as one of the twenty most active established Software Engineering researchers world-wide in the period 2013 to 2020.