Paper Session II-C - Introducing New Technologies Into Space Station Subsystems

In a cooperative effort between Kennedy Space Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Space Operations Company, a new systems engineering methodology has been developed and applied in the operational world of Shuttle processing. The new engineering approach stresses the importance of identifying, quantitatively assessing, and managing system performance and risk related to the dynamic nature of requirements, technology, and operational concepts. Under the cooperative program entitled, Space Systems Integration and Operations Research Applications (SIORA), the modernization of the processing operations for the Shuttle thermal protection system (IPS) or tiles became the first application of the engineering methodology. This effort adopted an approach consisting of an integrated set of rapid prototyping testbeds in which a government/ university/industry team of users, technologists, and engineers tested and evaluated new concepts and technologies within and in parallel to Shuttle processing operations. The integrated set of technologies introduced included speech recognition and synthesis capabilities, laser imaging inspection systems, distributed Ada programming environments, distributed relational database architectures, in addition to distributed computer network architectures, multi-media workbenches, expert system applications, probabilistic risk assessment modeling, and human factors considerations. The successful operational implementation of the integrated prototype, referred to as the Space Shuttle Tile Automation System, has validated the engineering methodology and strongly indicates that the same approach would be a viable systems engineering and project management tool for Freedom Space Station. This paper will address the lessons learned from the Shuttle processing experience and will present concepts which are applicable to the design and development of the Freedom Space Station