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The Constellation Program Team
- Christian Hardcastle
By: Jennifer MacRae
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
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At NASA PM Challenge 2008, Christian Hardcastle
presented “The Constellation Program Team: Reaching Higher and Further.” Mr. Hardcastle is the director of
Systems Engineering and Integration Office at NASA’s
Johnson Space Center. This presentation focused on
transitioning the team from a focus on requirement definition to a focus on executing a design.
Leveraging the capabilities and knowledge of a diverse
Constellation Program team from throughout NASA and
industry involves an extraordinary commitment to teamwork,” explained Hardcastle. The Constellation Program has a
gallant vision for Space Exploration, which includes the
completion of the ISS, develop and fly the Crew Exploration Vehicle (Orion) no later then 2014, return to the moon no later than 2020, extend human presence across the solar system and beyond, and promote international and
commercial participation in exploration, to name a few. In
order to make these visions a reality the Constellation
Program has also developed exploration strategy themes. Some of these themes include: to use the moon to prepare for future human and robotic missions to Mars and other destinations, to pursue scientific activities to address
fundamental questions about the solar system, the universe, and our place in them, to strengthen existing and create new global partnership, and above all, to engage, inspire, and educate the public.
In order to transition from requirements foundation to
Preliminary Design and DDT&E HW/SW, there needs to be continued growth of a high performance, virtually distributed, nationwide team that will strive to recognize people as our key resource, focus on results and never lose sight of the customers’/stakeholders’ needs, and leverage the best of the NASA, other Government Agencies and Industry. The team will also have to foster open and honest communication, develop integrated and prioritized plans while being flexible and adaptive, build off of world-class technical requirements and the defined verification methods/means, and encourage proper checks and balances by embracing the governance model and independent assessments. “The Constellation Program has demonstrated proven results in its aggressive formulation as a DDT&E Large-scale Program,” said
Hardcastle.
The team has seven fundamental enablers to facilitate a successful transition between the foundation and
preliminary design phases. These enablers are:
• Combat “Requirements Creep” and aggressively
control/monitor technical cost and schedule
baselines.
• Measure design compliance, innovation,
integration and drive timely bounding and mitigation
of emerging technical risks.
• Focus on “The Mission” and the design of all
aspects of preparing for and executing the mission.
• Refine time phase compatibility strategy,
structure and build up details.
• Plan and integrate detailed hardware and
software incremental development, integration,
qualification, verification and validation at all levels
• Enhance interface control documents and
integrated hazards
• Preserve architecture key driving requirements
and focus on survivability, reliability, maintainability, interoperability, interchangeability, supportability, and extensibility to enhance safety and long-term
operability/affordability.
The enablers are contingent on the four main program
tenets; which are crew safety, mission success, program risk mitigation, and life cycle costs. If these four key views are followed and implemented, program success can be achieved, as proven by many successful projects such as the Apollo and Saturn programs. Accordingly, critical errors can be avoided by learning valuable lessons from the past.
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Curator:
NASA Official:
Last Updated: April 16, 2008 |
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