Aerospace Assessment of Space Station Element Completed

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (2/16/98) -- Aerospace engineers have completed their assessment of the International Space Station's first U.S. flight element, Flight 2A, as part of NASA's independent assessment team.

Flight 2A comprises the first node of the space station coupled with pressurized mating adapters, which will interface with the shuttle and the Russian functional cargo block. It will form the common intersection between multipurpose modules and truss structures, and will be used to provide an environment for transporting people, equipment and utilities for long-duration crew operations and activities.

The node and its pressurized mating adapters will be preintegrated on the ground before being launched and attached to the space station as a single cargo element.

Aerospace Team

At NASA's request, Aerospace last year assembled a team of mechanical, electrical, software and communications engineers to conduct the investigation, which began in July and ended in December. The team was headed by Bruce Wendler of the Vehicle Systems Division.

The team used a variety of techniques--including those employed on government programs and those observed on commercial or nongovernment programs--to refine the assessment process and establish metrics for monitoring progress.

The team initially employed the "watch item" technique, learned from the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (the designated operational test agency on many Space and Missile Systems Center programs supported by Aerospace). The technique calls for watch items-issues that could evolve into concerns-to be identified and monitored.

Because the space station program contains no contract provision for team "in-briefings" or formal requests for information, each team developed its own resources to facilitate information exchange using commercial methods gleaned from integrated product teams.

As the assessment progressed, team members characterized their findings using tools and databases available at Aerospace, allowing watch items to mature as program concerns if necessary.

At the close of the investigation, the team completed "concern" forms, a practice typically associated with the government's mission-assurance-team approach.

Risks Characterized

Aerospace was required to characterize the risk level of its concerns in terms of NASA's likelihood-and-consequence criteria used at Johnson Space Center for the space station. Risk urgency was determined taking into account that many items could be fixed onorbit, not unlike the repairs made recently on the Mir space station.

The concern form listed 25 issues to be addressed, including four marked urgent.

The team gave a debriefing to NASA in support of its launch-minus-six-month milestone and impressed on NASA's technical support personnel the challenges of meeting the aggressive schedule planned for Flight 2A.

Wendler said the combined efforts of Aerospace engineers working at Johnson Space Center in Houston and at the corporate offices in El Segundo facilitated the complex task. NASA now has a profile of the program risks for further prioritization and disposition by the space station contractor and NASA teams, he said.

"Aerospace MTS (members of the technical staff) really made the difference in meeting and exceeding customer expectations," Wendler added.

The Aerospace team has received its second space station assignment from NASA and is now assessing Flight 4A, which will provide additional power for the space station as it builds up in space. Flight 2A is scheduled for launch this summer.