• Ensure the technical excellence and credibility of Branch products.
• Ensure that the Products Units utilize the broad range of systems analysis products and services to plan programs and assess technologies of strategic importance in their markets.
• Establish immediate user and funder needs.
• Strengthen existing partnerships and establish new partnerships, both inside and outside the Center, that are critical for successful systems analysis.
• Meet funded program and project cost, schedule and technical milestones.
• Secure funding for development of specialist skills (people and laboratories) and align products to serve the Agency needs for system analysis.
• Propose and define future program elements that are aligned with NASA Headquarters needs and Langley Exploration and Flight Projects Directorate (EFPD), Science Directorate (SD), and Aeronautics Research Directorate (ARD) Systems analysis and requirements development plans.
• Lead and perform special independent studies as requested by Langley or Headquarters, including functional offices such as Program Analysis and Evaluation (PA&E) and the Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE).
• Continually developing, integrating, maintaining, and transferring an integrated suite of systems analysis tools, methods, and technical skills in cooperation with other specialized discipline organizations throughout NASA and other agencies.

Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch

The Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch (ASAB) is responsible for:

• Developing and maintaining a knowledge base as an Agency resource as well as a Center resource for systems analysis to support ongoing and future investments in aeronautics programs
• Providing appropriate fidelity, multidisciplinary systems analysis of a broad range of aeronautics concepts, both customer-supplied and internally defined.
• Supporting the identification and assessment of promising new technology areas.
• Supporting the Agency's strategic planning.
• Supporting competitive aeronautics proposal generation and evaluation.

• Conducting systems studies to develop innovative concepts for space exploration and mission architectures.
• Performing systems analyses to assess the technical merit of spacecraft and mission concepts.
• Providing technical support to the Earth and Space Science Programs in the area of spacecraft analysis, including mission and performance definition assessments.
• Providing systems analysis support to Langley Research Center research and technology projects.
• Conducting analytical studies of space experiments and accommodations.
• Providing technical support to customers through the analysis of system performance and interface design, definition, and assessment of critical issues, independent evaluation of flight control and ground system performance, and system requirements analysis.

Vehicle Analysis Branch

The Vehicle Analysis Branch (VAB) is responsible for:

• Performing preliminary design and analysis of space transportation system concepts, from the point of origin to the final destination and the entire life cycle, in support of space and planetary exploration.
• Performing an advocacy role for the space transportation systems that enable effective space exploration.
• Performing a non-advocacy role in then independent evaluation of individual systems concepts.
• Identifying, evaluating, and recommending high payoff and synergistic technologies.
• Assisting in strategic planning via technology roadmap development.
• Assisting tactical decision-making via requirement sensitivity evaluations.

Advanced Aerospace Systems Branch

The Advanced Aerospace Systems Branch (AASB) is responsible for:

• Conducting theoretical, experimental, and overall systems studies directed toward advancing the state of the art for survivable military aircraft.
• Identifying new research thrusts and system-level benefits and defining advocacy materials.
• Serving as interface and stimulus to help guide NASA basic research organizations in the development of technologies for practical applications.
• Providing systems analysis support to Agency programs through close integration with Project Managers, research organizations, NASA Headquarters, and other NASA centers and government agencies.
• Identifying the potential applications of new technology and encouraging interactions between focus groups across NASA and other agencies.