The Transition from Spacecraft Development to Flight Operations: Human Factor Considerations

Abstract. In the field of aeronautics and astronautics, a paradigm shift has been witnessed by those in academia, research and development, and private industry. Long development life cycles and the budgets to support such programs and projects has given way to aggressive task schedules and leaner resources to draw from- all the while challenging assigned individuals to create and produce impro';,ed products or processes. However, this "faster, better, cheaper " concept cannot merely be applied to the design, development, and test of complex systems such as earth-orbiting or interplanetary robotic spacecraft. Full advantage is not possible without due consideration and application to mission operations planning and flight operations. Equally as important as the flight system, the mission operations system consisting of qualified personnel, ground hardware and software tool_, and verified and validated operational processes, sho:,ld also be regarded as a complex system requiring personnel to draw upon formal education, training, relat,.d experiences, and heuristic reasoning in engineering an effective and efficient system. Unquestionably, qualified personnel are the most important elements of a mission operations system. This paper examines the experiences of the Deep Space! Project, the first in a series of new technology in-flight validation missions sponsored by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), specifically, in developing a subsystems analysis and technology validation team comprised of former spacecraft development personnel. Human factor considerations are investigated from initial concept/vision formulation; through operational process development; personnel test and training; to initial uplink product development and test support. Emphasis has been placed on challenges and applied or recommended solutions, so as to provide opportunities for future programs and projects to address and disposition potential issues and concerns as early as possible to reap the benefits associated with learning from other',; past experiences