A Constrained Space Exploration Technology Program A Review of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program (2008) / Chapter Skim
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4 Management and Execution of the Exploration Technology Development Program
4 Management and Execution of the Exploration Technology Development Program
Pages 56-66
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From page 56... ...
Following its review of the context of the ETDP, the committee examines four topics: the program management and implementation methodology, the balance between near-term and far-term technology investment, the involvement of the broader community, and the need for testing in the development program. The committee reviewed the presentations offered by ETDP management, the formal project plans of each of the 22 ETDP projects, and other overviews of the program, including "The Exploration Technology Develop ment Program" and "Technology Infusion Planning Within the Exploration Technology Development Program." 1 In general, the committee found a thoughtful and well-designed planning and administrative process that seeks to accomplish the following: • Identify the benefit of a new technology to the flight element, • Set requirements for the technology, • Develop the new technology to a technology readiness level (TRL)
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From page 57... ...
These constraints include the still-dynamic nature of the requirements handed over from the Constellation Program; the constraints imposed by a limited budget, both from a historical perspective and relative to the larger exploration goals; the aggressive timescale of early technology deliverables; and the desire within NASA to fully employ the NASA workforce at its "ten healthy centers." These constraints have posed many management and programmatic challenges, which in some cases have impeded the efficiency and effectiveness of the ETDP. The close coupling of the ETDP to the needs of the Constellation Program represents a strategy for technology development at one extreme end of the spectrum of approaches to the management of technology approaches.
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From page 58... ...
The ETDP has a well-designed approach to managing the programmatic risk of its own technology develop ment. It is necessary, however, to consider the impact of ETDP technologies on the Constellation Program, on engineering, and on human health risks for crewed space systems, which interact in a variety of complicated and 4Jay M
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From page 59... ...
Finding 1 on Management: Although the ETDP has a well-conceived process for managing the programmatic risk of its own technology development, the committee found a lack of clarity in the way that the ETDP accounts for the contributions of its technology developments to reducing exploration (i.e., Constellation) program risk, to reducing operational and human health risks, and to considering human-design-factor issues in operations.
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From page 60... ...
Operational risk passes to the ETDP projects through the requirements passed down from the Constellation Program. The management of programmatic risk in the development of technologies is addressed in Section 8 of each project plan, without reference to how these risks interact with one another and with the engineering and human health risks associated with the technologies.
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From page 61... ...
The literature in this field extensively examines the exchange of knowledge from universities to industry, giving less coverage to the transfer of technology from industrial research laboratories to industrial product divi sions. The topic of transfer from a technology development group within government to a technology user within government is examined less often, but there is now reason to think that the general lessons learned in the other areas would benefit the ESMD in its development of more robust human-centered knowledge-exchange plans.
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From page 62... ...
When compared with the historical balance of low- and mid-TRL-level investments, the recent and significant reduction and/or termination of low-TRL research could have major negative impacts (loss of sustainability in both technologies and personnel) on the ability of the United States to participate successfully in future human space exploration programs.
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From page 63... ...
One method of increasing collaboration and information exchange with external sources and at the same time contributing to the further development of project leadership is to incorporate an external peer review process. Finding 2 on Community: In many cases, ETDP projects do not take advantage of external technical peer review.
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From page 64... ...
TESTING The need for adequate testing is a recurrent theme in program failure reports: for example, a proximate cause of the Mars Polar Lander, Deep Space 2, Mars Expedition Rover, Titan IVB, and Sea Launch failures was inadequate testing.12 The Columbia Accident Investigation Board concluded that "organizational practices detrimental to safety were allowed to develop, including reliance on past success as a substitute for sound 11Christopher Moore, Program Executive, Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, NASA, presentation to the committee, October 10, 2007.
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From page 65... ...
The committee identified a lack of sufficient testing (ground or flight) in 12 ETDP projects (Ablative Thermal Protection System for the Crew Exploration Vehicle, Lunar Dust Mitigation, Cryogenic Fluid Management, High-Performance and Radiation-Hardened Electronics, Intelligent Software Design, Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, Automated Rendezvous and Docking Sensor Technology, Extravehicular Activ ity Technologies, International Space Station Research, In Situ Resource Utilization, Fission Surface Power, and Human-Robotic Systems/Analogs)
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From page 66... ...
A key facility currently missing is a large-scale, combined thermal, vacuum, and dust simulator, which is required for three ETDP projects (Lunar Dust Mitigation, In Situ Resource Utilization, and Human-Robotic Systems/Analogs)
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