2nd Generation

1

• 2nd Generation
• Reusable Launch Vehicle
• -
• Concepts for Flight Operations
• SpaceOps 2002
• October 2002
• Jeff Hagopian
• Systems Engineering Integration (UP10)
• Marshall Space Flight Center

2
Agenda

• Terminology
• Vision
• Missions
• Operations Concepts
• Planning
• Training
• Cadre Certification
• Cadre Operations
• Automated Reconfiguration
• Summary

3
Terminology

• Architecture - The integrated set of vehicles,
  facilities, systems and people (both flight
  ground) required to implement space
  transportation requirements.
• Cadre - A group of trained certified personnel
  assigned to perform the ground-based operations
  functions for flight operations.
• Control Center A ground-based facility used to
  support or effect the manned and unmanned
  operations of transportation system vehicles.
• Crew Any personnel aboard an element of the 2nd
  Gen RLV architecture during launch, ascent, while
  on-orbit, and/or during descent landing.
• Ground Controller Ground-based personnel in, or
  remote from, the Control Center that support or
  effect transportation system vehicle operations.
• Primary Mission A mission that the 2nd Gen RLV
  must be capable of performing at Initial
  Operational Capability, which is currently
  projected to be the year 2012.
• System A set of interrelated components that
  interact with one another in an organized fashion
  towards a common purpose.

4
NASAsIntegrated Space Transportation Plan
Space Shuttle Safety Upgrades
2nd Gen RLV Program
Advanced Space Transportation Program
5
Vision

• 2nd Gen RLV is
• A key element of NASAs strategy for safer, more
  reliable, and less expensive access to space.
• A commercially owned and operated space
  transportation system.
• 2nd Gen RLV goals are
• Provide a robust and responsive space
  transportation system that will satisfy NASA,
  Department of Defense, and commercial aerospace
  industry needs.
• Improve safety -- risk to crew, ground personnel,
  and general population.
• Improve reliability -- launch availability and
  success.
• Decrease costs -- dollars per pound of payload
  mass to orbit.

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Missions

• Primary Missions
• International Space Station (ISS)
• Logistics Resupply
• Crew Rotation
• Maintenance Assembly
• Crew Rescue Vehicle
• Changeout
• Payload Delivery
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
• Geosynchronous Transfer
• Orbit (GTO)
• Planetary Orbit (Earth escape)

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Operations ConceptsPlanning

• Goal
• Eliminate and/or minimize the amount of hands-on
  interaction required to develop and maintain
  flight plans and products.
• Provide automated capabilities for the
  development and maintenance of flight plans and
  products.
• Benefits
• Shortens planning templates.
• Reduces errors in transformation and modeling of
  requirements.
• Improves consistency in planning products.
• Enhances the ability to respond to changes.
• Challenges
• Automated tools to collect and interpret
  scheduling requirements.
• Acceptance of software generated plans and
  products.
• Automated capability to propagate changes to
  plans and products.
• Acceptance of less than optimal plans.

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Operations ConceptsTraining

• Goal
• Design out training where practical.
• Eliminate and/or minimize the need for exhaustive
  pre-mission training through the use of
  Just-In-Time Training (JIT).
• Benefits
• Shortens crew and ground controller training
  templates.
• Provides selective and focused training.
• Provides on-site training.
• Enhances the ability to train crew and ground
  controllers on updates to procedures and
  processes.
• Challenges
• Rapid and cost efficient development of training
  materials.
• Ease of use and access to applicable training
  materials.
• Availability of training tools and materials in
  the operations environment.

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Operations ConceptsCadre Certification

• Goal
• Implement skill/qualification-based certification
  as opposed to mission/flight-based certification.
• Benefits
• Reduces paperwork and training.
• Eliminates or minimizes redundant training
  activities.
• Provides increased flexibility in staffing.
• Challenges
• Major shift in paradigm from mission-based
  certification.
• Implementation of consistent processes,
  procedures, products, and expectations across
  missions/flights.

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Operations ConceptsCadre Operations

• Goal
• Minimize the need for 24x7 console support within
  the control center.
• Provide capabilities for on-call support in the
  event of off-nominal operations.
• Benefits
• Provides on-call personnel with remote access to
  tools and data to support problem resolution.
• Reduces overall manpower effort required to
  support flight operations, both prior to and
  during execution.
• Enables personnel to perform other tasks, while
  maintaining the capability to respond to
  problems.
• Challenges
• Remote access to tools and data.
• Acceptance of less than immediate response to
  non-critical problems.
• Lack of situational awareness for those
  responding to problems.

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Operations ConceptsAutomated Reconfiguration

• Goal
• Provide automated systems that eliminate or
  minimize repetitive reconfiguration tasks that
  must be performed by flight crew and ground
  personnel.
• Benefits
• Allows limited manpower to be devoted to tasks
  that require human interaction.
• Reduces requirements for procedure development
  and training.
• Eliminates or minimizes opportunities for human
  error.
• Enables reconfigurations to be automatically
  rescheduled.
• Challenges
• Reliance on tools to perform routine operations.
• Automated tools capable of performing
  reconfigurations when scheduled or required.
• Adequate information for flight and/or ground
  personnel to assess failures in either the system
  being reconfigured or the software performing the
  reconfiguration.

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Summary

• The 2nd Gen RLV must be designed up front for
  operability to include vehicles, facilities,
  software systems, and personnel.
• Experience gained from previous space operations
  vehicles and programs provides a wealth of
  knowledge with applicability to 2nd Gen RLV
  operations.
• The safety, cost, and performance goals of the
  2nd Gen RLV Program drive the need for basic
  changes in the approach to operations including
  but not limited to
• Planning
• Training
• Cadre Certification
• Cadre Operations
• Automated Reconfiguration
• With proper focus, the 2nd Gen RLV Program has
  the ability to effect significant changes in the
  approach to and implementation of space
  transportation system operations.