Upgrading the Space Shuttle (1999) / Chapter Skim
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3 Choosing Upgrades
3 Choosing Upgrades
Pages 21-37
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From page 21... ...
Uncertainties about the shuttle's operational lifetime have made it difficult for NASA to decide whether to implement upgrades to combat obsolescence and reduce operating costs. Uncertainties about the shuttle's future roles and flight rates have also made it difficult for NASA to decide whether upgrades to support non-ISS missions should be implemented.
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From page 22... ...
The committee supports NASA's approach of using its limited shuttle up grade budget to fund minor upgrades that have identifiable short-term benefits and to conduct preparatory studies for major upgrades that may be warranted if the shuttle program is called upon to operate after 2012. This approach should help shuttle operations remain relatively safe and efficient for the next few years and enable the program to implement major upgrades if a decision is made to extend the shuttle's lifetime or to close out the upgrade program with minimal waste if the decision is made to phase out the shuttle.
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From page 23... ...
Recommendation 2. The ability of a shuttle-unique upgrade to support an increased flight rate should not be a factor in the prioritization process, unless NASA can show through a viable business plan that has been reviewed and approved by financial and technical experts inside and outside the agency, as well as national policy makers (1)
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From page 24... ...
If upgrades that combat obsolescence continue to be given a high priority, this should be reflected in the upgrade program's stated goals. The goals of the $100 million per year upgrade program do not necessarily have to be identical to the goals of the overall Space Shuttle Program.
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From page 25... ...
The $100 million per year (increased for inflation over time) of program reserves managed by the Space Shuttle Program Development Office is probably sufficient to maintain a reasonable level of obsolescence control through the ISS era, but it is grossly insufficient to meet the cost target stated in the strategic plan.
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From page 26... ...
Additional benefits could be gained by improving cost assessment procedures and modifying the shuttle operations contract to provide stronger incentives for USA corporation or any future prime contractor to develop and implement upgrades. Quantitative Risk Assessment System The NASA administrator initiated the development of QRAS in 1996.
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From page 27... ...
Until these improvements are made, the Space Shuttle Program Development Office should be very cautious in using the quantitative risk assessment system to aid in prioritizing upgrades.
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From page 28... ...
These rankings (along with many other inputs, including the raw survey data used by the DSS) are used by the Space Shuttle Program Development Office in prioritizing upgrades for implementation.
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From page 29... ...
NASA should take care that the Decision Support System's quantitative tools are used as a supplement to, not as a substitute for, formal qualitative evaluations. Expert Elicitation should be considered as an additional formal qualitative tool.
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From page 30... ...
However, the shuttle upgrades program does not consistently use fixed-year dollars in its assessments of candidate upgrades. The committee found inconsistencies in both the scope and accuracy of upgrade cost data.
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From page 31... ...
USA corporation has invested some of the 35 percent award fee they have earned to date in improvements to processes and training. However, the incentive has not been strong enough to convince USA corporation to invest in major shuttle upgrades because most
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From page 32... ...
Although USA corporation appears to be an involved partner in defining and developing shuttle upgrades, the SFOC could be improved to provide stronger incentives for (1) prioritizing shuttle upgrade initiatives more consistently with the program's stated priorities (e.g., safety risk reduction before cost reduction)
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From page 33... ...
All modifications to the contract are opportunities to add incentives for USA corporation (and future prime contractors) to initiate upgrades to meet other shuttle program goals.
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From page 34... ...
Upgrade project managers should involve industry more in the definition and early development of candidate upgrades. Early Systems Integration NASA' s FY99 budget request states that "the space shuttle upgrade activity will be planned and implemented from a system-wide perspective.
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From page 35... ...
The committee has two major concerns about software changes associated with potential shuttle upgrades. The first is the potential that software changes can dramatically increase an upgrade's development costs and delay its implementation.
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From page 36... ...
The most effective way to meet a particular program requirement will often not be through any of the individual upgrades proposed to the Space Shuttle Program Development Office but through a combination of candidate upgrades (or elements of candidate upgrades)
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From page 37... ...
1998. Telephone communication between Stanley Nichols, NASA headquarters, and Bryan O'Connor, chair of the Committee on Space Shuttle Upgrades.
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