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Program Systems Engineering (PSE)

The Program Systems Engineering (PSE) team at NASA is a part of the overall Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Systems Engineering (SE) team. The SCaN SE team interfaces with various programs across the agency to ensure that SCaN technology, radio spectrum, and standards initiatives are feasible and responsive to all of NASA’s space communications and navigation needs. SCaN SE is managed, facilitated, and coordinated by SCaN’s PSE Office mutually interfaces with all divisions and offices within SCaN, and across the associated NASA Centers. Each division in NASA apply their own unique SE approaches to their SCaN specific functions, however coordination with the PSE Office ensures seamless SE comprehension across SCaN and the agency.

The PSE team comprises members from NASA Headquarters as well as from other NASA centers. Members of the integrated SCaN PSE team work together to conduct the overall SCaN SE Program activities. The PSE organization is enhanced by joint participation in program- level reviews and working group meetings; lifecycle development and acquisition activities, from concept studies through decommissioning; the development of requirements allocated from the program to the project level; and assessments of the overall SCaN Network architecture and its ability to meet mission objectives.


Demonstration of a future lunar communications architecture supported by the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program Systems Engineering (PSE) team.

SCaN Systems Engineering Functions

The SCaN Systems Engineering team monitors the sum of SCaN systems engineering efforts across the entire program. It is not a specific organization, but a process. SE includes elements from all of the SCaN organizations, namely: the NSD, the ACNT, Spectrum Policy and Planning Division (SPP), the Policy and Strategic Communication Office (PSC), the Business Management Office (BMO), and the Program Systems Engineering (PSE) Office, which includes Data Standards; and associated NASA Centers; stakeholders; and user community. Part of the role of NASA’s PSE Division is to provide coordination between SCaN Technical Projects and Program Systems Engineering to maintain the overall SCaN Program technical baseline.

The SCaN SE team facilitates these activities across SCaN Program and project boundaries and coordinates among various internal and external organizations to accomplish the specific goals of the program, and interfaces with stakeholders throughout the SCaN organization and NASA Centers to define the SCaN Program-level requirements; give project representatives the opportunity to analyze and discuss program and project space C&N requirements; and validate baselined requirements.

The PSE team approaches multidisciplinary teamwork through cooperation among the various functional subject matter experts and various network domain experts that are part of the PSE team.  For example, the Surrogate Mission Team (SMT) is utilized by the GRC Center PSE SE Lead to advise the PSE team regarding mission user needs.

SCaN Systems Engineering Functions

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