Location
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Atlantis/ Discovery Rooms
Start Date
28-4-1993 2:00 PM
End Date
28-4-1993 5:00 PM
Description
This study analyzes three commonly practiced approaches to Government acquisition of space launch services. These approaches are employed by the U.S. Air Force, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. Launch contracts which were representative of each organization's acquisition procedures were investigated and evaluated along several critical issues and elements of the space launch acquisition process. These issues included payload characteristics, government oversight, contractor incentives, insurance, liability and cost. The critical issues and elements were determined by using the Delphi method to survey 25 experts in the space launch field. Archival contractual data from the three government agencies were obtained and analyzed. The study found many inconsistencies among the different agencies' acquisition procedures. The paper ends with a recommendation for a hybrid acquisition approach encompassing the strengths of the three cases. The approach entails the use of positive and negative Contractor incentives, Government self-insurance, and streamlined commerciallike acquisition procedures.
Paper Session II-A - Public Space Launch Acquisition: A Comparative Case Study
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Atlantis/ Discovery Rooms
This study analyzes three commonly practiced approaches to Government acquisition of space launch services. These approaches are employed by the U.S. Air Force, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. Launch contracts which were representative of each organization's acquisition procedures were investigated and evaluated along several critical issues and elements of the space launch acquisition process. These issues included payload characteristics, government oversight, contractor incentives, insurance, liability and cost. The critical issues and elements were determined by using the Delphi method to survey 25 experts in the space launch field. Archival contractual data from the three government agencies were obtained and analyzed. The study found many inconsistencies among the different agencies' acquisition procedures. The paper ends with a recommendation for a hybrid acquisition approach encompassing the strengths of the three cases. The approach entails the use of positive and negative Contractor incentives, Government self-insurance, and streamlined commerciallike acquisition procedures.
Comments
Current Launch Systems
Session Chairman: Lee R. Scherer, Consultant, Commercial Launch Services, General Dynamics Corporation
Session Organizer: Shaman Mullick, Advanced Programs, Harris Space Systems Corporation