Location
Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Start Date
3-5-2000 2:00 PM
Description
After nearly twenty-years of operation and 100 flights, the space shuttle has amassed a wealth of historical processing data. The data is currently being used to generate various “metrics”—graphs, figures, charts, etc.—used to track continual improvement of the shuttle. This paper displays and discusses several key space shuttle metrics including: (1) the annual flight rate—planned and actual; (2) time required to process the various flight hardware elements through their respective processing facilities; (3) ground processing hours required to produce space shuttle missions; (4) the size of the ground processing workforce; (5) stress on the workforce as measured by overtime and “work-time deviations”; (6) “cannibalizations” of hardware from one orbiter to another; (7) success in landing at the planned landing site i.e. KSC; and (8) the Space Shuttle program’s annual budget. While this information is primarily used for assessing past performance of the shuttle, it can also be used as an indicator for near term performance. Such metrics will also serve as benchmarks for future generations of reusable space vehicles. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author’s.
Paper Session II-B - A Historical and Current Status of Processing the Space Shuttle: a Metrics Based Assessment
Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
After nearly twenty-years of operation and 100 flights, the space shuttle has amassed a wealth of historical processing data. The data is currently being used to generate various “metrics”—graphs, figures, charts, etc.—used to track continual improvement of the shuttle. This paper displays and discusses several key space shuttle metrics including: (1) the annual flight rate—planned and actual; (2) time required to process the various flight hardware elements through their respective processing facilities; (3) ground processing hours required to produce space shuttle missions; (4) the size of the ground processing workforce; (5) stress on the workforce as measured by overtime and “work-time deviations”; (6) “cannibalizations” of hardware from one orbiter to another; (7) success in landing at the planned landing site i.e. KSC; and (8) the Space Shuttle program’s annual budget. While this information is primarily used for assessing past performance of the shuttle, it can also be used as an indicator for near term performance. Such metrics will also serve as benchmarks for future generations of reusable space vehicles. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author’s.
