Orbit
Teague x NASA Capstone Project
Role
Product Designer
Scope
6 months
Skills
Product Design
Interaction Design
UX Research
Year
2026
Context
For my MHCID capstone project, I collaborated with the design consultancy Teague and NASA to design Orbit: a scheduling interface for mission control operations that leverages automation and AI assistance to helps mission planners schedule activities by calculating and visualizing mission constraints.
Research Insights
Research Insights
Research Insights
Outdated and disconnected systems caused frustration for flight controllers.
Outdated and disconnected systems caused frustration for flight controllers.
Outdated and disconnected systems caused frustration for flight controllers.
Mission scheduling was identified as one of the most time-consuming and exhausting processes.
Mission scheduling was identified as one of the most time-consuming and exhausting processes.
SME interviews revealed that mission requirements are calculated by hand, with no good way to visualize constraints and conflicts.
SME interviews revealed that mission requirements are calculated by hand, with no good way to visualize constraints and conflicts.
The space industry is slow to adopt design improvement due to concerns of uncertainty.
The space industry is slow to adopt design improvement due to concerns of uncertainty.
New innovations are deemed as unsafe and too risky if they haven’t proven themselves to be trusted.
New innovations are deemed as unsafe and too risky if they haven’t proven themselves to be trusted.
Time is one of the biggest mission costs in space.
Time is one of the biggest mission costs in space.
It costs $160k/hr to keep an astronaut in space, and improving efficiency could allow operators to focus on more urgent tasks.
It costs $160k/hr to keep an astronaut in space, and improving efficiency could allow operators to focus on more urgent tasks.
Clustering Exercises
Clustering Exercises
Clustering Exercises
Flight operators value trust, safety, and control above all else.
Flight operators value trust, safety, and control above all else.
Flight operators value trust, safety, and control above all else.
Clustering exercises helped us narrow down to the root of operator motivations and values. Running multiple iterations to further refine was essential in sorting and synthesizing through all of our data.
Clustering exercises helped us narrow down to the root of operator motivations and values. Running multiple iterations to further refine was essential in sorting and synthesizing through all of our data.
Clustering exercises helped us narrow down to the root of operator motivations and values. Running multiple iterations to further refine was essential in sorting and synthesizing through all of our data.
How might we improve the scheduling process for mission planners in order to increase the operational efficiency of mission control operations?
How might we improve the scheduling process for mission planners in order to increase the operational efficiency of mission control operations?
How might we improve the scheduling process for mission planners in order to increase the operational efficiency of mission control operations?
Task Matrix
Task Matrix
Task Matrix
Confirm our project focus by validating our research findings.
Confirm our project focus by validating our research findings.
Confirm our project focus by validating our research findings.
To visualize design opportunities, we plotted flight controller tasks based on three different axes:
To visualize design opportunities, we plotted flight controller tasks based on three different axes:
To visualize design opportunities, we plotted flight controller tasks based on three different axes:
Impact of Automation: To what extent will automating this task improve efficiency for operators?
Impact of Automation: To what extent will automating this task improve efficiency for operators?
Effort to Implement: How much time, resources, and technical complexity are required to implement automation?
Effort to Implement: How much time, resources, and technical complexity are required to implement automation?
Risk of Automating: What is the potential for compromised safety and trust by introducing automation?
Risk of Automating: What is the potential for compromised safety and trust by introducing automation?
Scheduling was reconfirmed to be promising design opportunity.
Scheduling was reconfirmed to be promising design opportunity.
Scheduling was reconfirmed to be promising design opportunity.
4 out of 6 SMEs directly mentioned scheduling to be a pain point.
Easy effort with high impact, but also lower risk compared to other tasks.
Periodic and routine activities are lower in the mission criticality stack.
User Journey Map
User Journey Map
User Journey Map
Breaking down the journey of a mission planner helped us directly spot areas for design improvement.
Breaking down the journey of a mission planner helped us directly spot areas for design improvement.
Breaking down the journey of a mission planner helped us directly spot areas for design improvement.
I called to simplify the journey map, condensing 8 stages into 4 steps (Setup, Spot Conflicts, Fix Conflicts, Post-Scheduling). This allowed us to identify what stages were out of scope due to limited time and help design with more intention that more closely aligned with user needs.
I called to simplify the journey map, condensing 8 stages into 4 steps (Setup, Spot Conflicts, Fix Conflicts, Post-Scheduling). This allowed us to identify what stages were out of scope due to limited time and help design with more intention that more closely aligned with user needs.
I called to simplify the journey map, condensing 8 stages into 4 steps (Setup, Spot Conflicts, Fix Conflicts, Post-Scheduling). This allowed us to identify what stages were out of scope due to limited time and help design with more intention that more closely aligned with user needs.
Prototype
Prototype
Prototype
Orbit addresses mission planner friction points through automated scheduling and improved constraint visualization.
Orbit addresses mission planner friction points through automated scheduling and improved constraint visualization.
Orbit addresses mission planner friction points through automated scheduling and improved constraint visualization.
Try out Orbit (Passcode: 1007)
Try out Orbit (Passcode: 1007)
Try out Orbit (Passcode: 1007)
Reflection + Next Steps
Reflection + Next Steps
Reflection + Next Steps
I was challenged to use human-centered design to implement automation and AI while maintaining safety and trust within a heavily regulated industry.
I was challenged to use human-centered design to implement automation and AI while maintaining safety and trust within a heavily regulated industry.
I was challenged to use human-centered design to implement automation and AI while maintaining safety and trust within a heavily regulated industry.
Going forward, I'd want to further refine the prototype for Orbit and validate these design improvements with more space SMEs.
Going forward, I'd want to further refine the prototype for Orbit and validate these design improvements with more space SMEs.
Going forward, I'd want to further refine the prototype for Orbit and validate these design improvements with more space SMEs.
