Space Station overall management approach for operations

before First Element Launch and will be continuous , throughout the 20-30 year life of the Station. AS The Space Station Program Office has recently , currently envisioned Station and user operations will baselined an Operations Management Concept. , be managed and conducted by a widely distributed Essential features of the Concept include: 8 qrouv of NASA oraanizations, international partners, commercial entrefieneurs, academic institutions, and The Space Station Program will have an operations other U.S. governmental users. management structure which includes NASA and internat ional partners, and encoura es Operations in the Space Station era will be quite non-NASA organizations. 9, participation by commercial enterprises and ot er , different from any previous space experience. 8 Differences include: assembly in orbit over several years, major evolutionary considerations from the Operations responsibilit ies w i l l include: outset,routineon-orbitservicingandmaintenance, influencing all aspects of Space Station systems and multiyear scheduling and manifesting o f design both initial and rowth, assuring a major payloads/activities and the supportin logistics. How user participation in leveloping operationalthese operations will be conducted #as raised issues procedures and support, incorporating operation such as: how Space Station resources will be allocated roles of the potential commercial entrepreneurs , and managed, and how operations costs will be and international partners, managing an 'managedandsharedamon potentialpartners. The integrated logistics support process including Space Station Program has%aselined an Operations coordinating with appropriate organizations for Management Concept which addresses the relevant space transportation services, managing and issues and establishes operating principles for conducting ope rations, and manag tng total organizing, managing, and executing the operations operations costs and financial needs. , functions. The Management Concept was developed through an iterative consensus building process by The Program will employ an or anization design several working groups which included all the ? which assures clear lines o authority and relevant NASA institutions and the potential accountabilit for operations decision-makin ?. At international artners. The followin sections state a minimum &is design will consider: ease o user the goal, out P ine several themes w#ich should be integration, clarity of international interfaces, a traced through the final operations concept and offer focus on autonomy of operations both from a a set of principles which might guide or bound the ground and on-board perspective, clear lines of implementation of such an operations architecture. operations responsibility and authority from the strategic organization level through operations Operations Goal execution, new philosophies of contingency management which still maximize crew safety, The Operations Management Concept hasa goal to: long-term control of operations costs, and opportunities for private sector involvement in the Provide operations concepts and facilities which conduct of operations. The design will reflect create the greatest opportunity to attain United maximum consideration of management by States and Free World leadership in space-oriented exception principles for all operations phases but and space-based research. especially for real-time operations. Tactical planning for such tasks as logistics and project A corollary which follows is: manifesting wi l l require more systematic coordination. Long-term strategic decisionDesign & long-term national economic payoff. makin related t tAat ion evolution may be highly centraRzed. The goal and corollary are stated to assure that ' o~erational barriers are minimized in strivinq for full This paper provides a background to development of ' space Station utilization. The coro l lar~ draws .this proposed operations management concept and attention to the likely prospect of private-sector 'summarizes the essential features of the strategic, involvement in operations i f Station utility and tactical, and execution levels of decision-ma king potential is fully reallzed. One scenario projects NASA 'suggested in the concept and outlines the objectives as an initiator of operational procedures and facility of an Operations Task Force which will develop ' development providing the essential catalyst and options for implementing an actual concept of proof-of-concept leading to commercial ventures in operations. operations.