 William F. Ballhaus Jr. |
From the President's Desk
The Aerospace Corporation was established as an objective, trusted partner and advisor to the nation's defense space programs. In partnership with the government and industry, Aerospace has contributed to the successful performance of critical missions by national security space systems for nearly 50 years.
Effective mission assurance is critical because space is an unforgiving business. Mission failures in the 1990s resulted in $11 billion in lost assets. Many of these losses resulted from the use of unvalidated acquisition practices—the "better, cheaper, faster" approach that grew popular after the Cold War. More significant than the loss in dollars was the loss of vital military and intelligence capabilities and opportunities for space exploration, research, and commerce.
Since 1999, the national security space industry has been recovering from those losses by reestablishing tried-and-true practices that emphasize mission success over schedule and cost reduction. This "back-to-basics" approach recognizes that optimum cost performance results from doing the job right the first time and achieving 100-percent mission success. Aerospace plays a vital role in this effort, and shares basic accountability for mission assurance for defense and some intelligence space systems. An obvious part of this accountability entails objective assessment and independent monitoring of program executability. But another important aspect involves helping the government to be a smart buyer. This begins by helping the government set an acceptable level of risk on a program. It also includes establishing appropriate incentives to guide prime contractor behavior and foster the technical curiosity that can reveal unexpected issues that can have catastrophic consequences. Applying these principles with equal rigor at the subcontractor and supplier levels is likewise essential to mission assurance.
As a nonprofit trusted agent with an extensive and well organized cross-program historical memory, Aerospace is uniquely positioned to support the government's mission assurance goals. Respected for their credibility and objectivity, Aerospace representatives serve on the Space and Missile Systems Center Independent Readiness Review Team and the NRO Mission Assurance Team, provide independent program assessments, and work alongside contractors in their own facilities. They investigate system anomalies and disseminate lessons learned. They develop and modernize relevant specifications and standards, provide independent review of testing protocols, and establish technology readiness criteria. To help the government manage complex space projects, Aerospace has developed tools such as the Aerospace Watch List and the Launch Verification Matrix. To strengthen partnerships and help the government and industry work toward common goals, Aerospace serves as coordinator of the Space Quality Improvement Council and the National Space Suppliers Council.
These efforts have helped get space programs back on the right track. But challenges will continue, as space systems become more complex and vital and as the number of missions and users continues to grow. Many new and next-generation space systems function as elements of broader enterprises, composed of different systems assembled through coupled acquisitions. Mission success, in this environment, requires managing an expanding number of complex architectures and interfaces. A key challenge, then, will be to sustain existing capabilities while building more comprehensive systems to replace them—and that means that space programs must perform to greater levels than ever before.
Aerospace is an integral part of the overall solution to mission assurance and mission success. The whole picture includes putting the right teams in place, capping risk at an acceptable level, establishing realistic cost and schedule estimates, using validated processes for predictable results, maintaining program stability, and enhancing the industrial base. Efforts to institute this comprehensive approach are paying off: National security space launches (and their associated on-orbit missions) are enjoying a tremendous string of successes—more than 50 in a row, including 15 EELV launches. As long as space system developers maintain clear accountabilities and sustain the focus on mission assurance, this positive trend can continue indefinitely.
William F. Ballhaus Jr.
President and CEO
