Reducing the Costs of Space Science Research Missions Proceedings of a Workshop (1997) / Chapter Skim
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3: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
3: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Pages 7-14
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From page 7... ...
Science missions usually begin with the basic objective of advancing scientific knowledge rather than enhancing national prestige or promoting societal benefits. This approach to mission objectives, preferred by scientists, may not demonstrate clearly the value of the public investment to nonscientists or provide a basis for articulating national space science policy.
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From page 8... ...
All four working groups believed that when national policies and political mandates impose requirements on individual scientific missions, there must also be serious consideration of longer-term scientific goals. Only then can there be major reductions in mission costs.
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From page 9... ...
Realizable science mission requirements can be promoted by an integrated team approach that actively involves scientists, spacecraft designers, and operations personnel in the requirements definition process. The team should also be given the authority to make necessary trade-offs throughout the project in order to achieve the scientific objectives within the budget constraints (NRC, 1995b)
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From page 10... ...
Workshop participants expressed the concern that, although the cost cap seems an obvious route to "smaller, faster, cheaper" science missions, the tradeoff of science performance per total program dollar is not addressed adequately. Although space science has always been limited by the availability of funds, certain types of scientific objectives, such as those requiring large optics, cannot be accomplished within an across-the-board cost cap.
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From page 11... ...
Cost trade-off studies at the program level could also consider technology and hardware from the growing commercial space infrastructure. For example, infrastructure costs, such as launch, mission ground control, and retrieval and distribution of scientific data the life-cycle costs can often be lowered significantly by using commercially available products and services instead of duplicating them in-house.
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From page 12... ...
The risk mitigation plans may both define the acceptable level of risk in a given mission and establish methods for addressing risk throughout the program. The working groups believed that risk assessments could be expanded to include not only technical risks but also programmatic risks (e.g., changes in national policy and congressionally mandated budget cuts, schedule delays, and unforeseen expenses)
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From page 13... ...
Workshop participants pointed out that even though a small spacecraft may be launched on a less expensive launch vehicle than a large spacecraft, the cost saving may be offset by the cost of technology miniaturization and packaging, as well as by capital investments for tooling, new facilities, and training and certification. Miniaturized technology in the space science context connotes costly investments in research and development.
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From page 14... ...
. In addition to the use of more advanced technologies, possible cost-reduction strategies include out-sourcing, using available commercial installations, and consolidating program facilities to realize economies of scale (Larson, Appendix C; Sarsfield, Appendix C)
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