Computer Science – Performance
Scientific paper
Jan 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002iaf..confe.298g&link_type=abstract
IAF abstracts, 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, The Second World Space Congress, held 10-19 October, 2002 in Houston, TX, USA.,
Computer Science
Performance
Scientific paper
While much has already been written about the Apollo program, the passage of time has sharpened our view of some of the lessons learned. Apollo was the result of a political imperative. The responsibility for the program was given to an open, civilian agency, NASA. The Lunar Orbit Rendezvous mission mode was selected after bitter debate. The Grumman LM contract began a year after the effort on the Command/Service Module was started. An incentive fee contract was devised where the fee would be determined by the contractor's success in meeting vehicle performance, schedule, and cost targets. It became obvious these targets had different priorities; performance came first - LM had to work, schedule came second, and cost came third. Grumman earned very little fee until the actual missions began and then did very well - the LM performed successfully every mission! A major factor in this success was a novel approach to reliability. Several challenging "firsts" were faced. LM was the first fly-by-wire, rocket powered VTOL manned vehicle designed to be flown only in space. Some basic truths were revealed: the usually ignored paradox in any truly novel undertaking, the contractor/agency relationship, the prime contractor/subcontractor relationship, the program/company relationship, and the limitations of human effort. The importance of an unambiguous goal and commited leadership was clearly demonstrated.
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