Frequently Asked Questions

SMAD Portal is a mission engineering workspace built on the Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD) methodology. It connects requirements management, risk registers, mass/power/link budgets, phase gate tracking, and 50+ engineering calculators in one platform.

About 10 minutes. Sign up, explore the pre-loaded sample mission, then create your own mission and import requirements from CSV. A guided walkthrough is available if you want a hands-on demo with your own data.

No. The cloud version runs on SOC 2 aligned infrastructure with US-based hosting. No software to install. For programs with stricter requirements, we offer a self-hosted deployment that runs entirely on your infrastructure.

Yes. The 30-day pilot includes full platform access for your entire team. Invite colleagues from the Settings page and assign mission roles so everyone has the right level of access.

Yes. Every new account includes a pre-loaded LEO Earth Observation sample mission with 50 requirements, 15 risks, populated mass and power budgets, and phase gate progress. It shows what a complete mission looks like in the platform.

Starter is $29/month per user for individuals. Pro is $79/month per user for teams with collaboration features. Enterprise pricing is available on request for programs needing advanced features, priority support, and custom deployment options.

Yes. No credit card required. Full platform access. Export everything if you decide it is not for you. No data is deleted if you need more time to decide.

You choose a plan that fits your team. Your data and configuration are preserved. If you need more time, just let us know. We would rather you evaluate thoroughly than rush a decision.

Yes. University teams and government programs can contact us for special pricing. We want SMAD Portal accessible to student CubeSat teams and SETA groups supporting government missions.

The self-hosted deployment runs entirely on your infrastructure with zero external network calls, making it suitable for ITAR programs. The cloud version uses US-based hosting. Classification tagging and access controls help enforce ITAR handling requirements. The customer is ultimately responsible for ITAR compliance within their organization.

Yes. SMAD Portal supports CUI category markings (CUI//SP-EXPT, CUI//SP-CTI, etc.) on mission data. Markings flow through to all generated deliverables and exports. The self-hosted deployment with air-gap support is recommended for CUI programs.

All data is encrypted at rest using AES-256 and in transit using TLS 1.2+. Database connections use SSL. Backups are encrypted. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt.

Only members of your organization with the appropriate role. SMAD Portal uses row-level security in the database, meaning queries physically cannot return data belonging to another organization. 12 mission-level roles with a granular capability matrix control what each user can see and edit.

Our cloud infrastructure is aligned with SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria for security, availability, and confidentiality. We are happy to walk through our security posture with your compliance team.

Yes. Export your DOORS module to CSV and import directly into SMAD Portal. Parent-child relationships are preserved and the L1/L2/L3 hierarchy is built automatically. We also support direct paste for smaller requirement sets.

Yes. Every table in SMAD Portal supports CSV export. Requirements, risks, verifications, budgets, and phase gates can all be exported at any time. PDF export is available for phase gate review packages. Your data is always yours.

SMAD Portal is designed as a self-contained mission engineering workspace rather than an ALM integration layer. For programs that need JIRA integration, we recommend using SMAD Portal for mission engineering and exporting deliverables for downstream tracking.

Yes. CSV import handles requirements, risks, and budget items from existing spreadsheets. The most common migration path is exporting your Excel sheets to CSV and importing them into SMAD Portal with column mapping.

Two options. Cloud deployment runs on Vercel and Supabase with no infrastructure to manage. Self-hosted deployment uses Docker Compose on your own servers with a self-hosted Supabase instance. The self-hosted option supports full air-gap operation.

The self-hosted deployment has zero external dependencies. No CDN calls, no analytics, no third-party fonts, no license phone-home. Deploy with Docker Compose. Updates are delivered as signed archive files transferred through approved media.

Yes. All 50+ engineering calculators run client-side in the browser with no server round-trips. Orbit analysis, link budgets, mass calculations, and all other calculators work identically whether online or in an air-gapped environment.

SMAD Portal supports the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. The portal is a single-page application optimized for desktop use. Mobile browsers work but the interface is designed for larger screens.

SMAD Portal includes a REST API for all mission data. The API uses the same authentication and role-based access controls as the web interface. API documentation is available to Enterprise plan users.

SMAD refers to Space Mission Analysis and Design, the standard methodology for spacecraft mission engineering. It covers mission definition, orbit design, spacecraft sizing, subsystem design, and operations planning. The methodology is described in the textbook series of the same name.

No. SMAD Portal is not affiliated with or endorsed by the authors of the SMAD textbook series. The platform implements the methodology described in the textbooks as a software tool for practicing mission engineers.

All eight standard mission phases: Pre-Phase A (Concept Studies), Phase A (Concept Development), Phase B (Preliminary Design), Phase C (Detailed Design), Phase D (Assembly/Integration/Test), Phase E (Operations), Phase F (Closeout), and custom phases for non-standard program structures.

Over 50 engineering calculators covering orbit mechanics, propulsion, thermal, power, communications, structures, attitude control, and more. Each calculator uses SMAD reference equations and can be connected to your mission budgets for real-time margin tracking.