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1993-02-05
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"6_2_4_6.TXT" (8139 bytes) was created on 01-02-89
SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
The Space Shuttle program is the major segment of NASA's National
Space Transportation System (NSTS) managed by the Office of Space
Flight (OSF) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D. C. The office is
headed by an associate administrator who reports directly to the NASA
administrator and is charged with providing executive leadership,
overall direction and effective accomplishment of the Space Shuttle
and associated programs, including unmanned launch vehicles.
The Associate Administrator for Space Flight exercises institutional
management authority over the activities of the NASA field
organizations whose primary functions are related to the NSTS
program. These are Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas;
Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla.; Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC), Huntsville, Ala.; and Stennis Space Center (formerly National
Space Technology Laboratories), Bay St. Louis, Miss.
The directors of these organizations, along with the Associate
Administrator for Space Flight, also are members of the Office of
Space Flight Management Council. This group meets regularly to
review Shuttle program progress and to provide an independent and
objective assessment of the status of the overall program.
NSTS ORGANIZATION
Within the OSF, centralized management authority for the Space
Shuttle program is charged to the Director, NSTS. This individual is
the program's general manager and has full responsibility and
authority for the operation and conduct of the Shuttle program.
These responsibilities include program control, budget planning and
preparation, scheduling and the maintenance of a balanced program.
The NSTS director reports to the Associate Administrator for Space
Flight.
Organizational elements of the NSTS office are located at NASA
Headquarters, JSC, KSC, MSFC and at the Vandenberg Launch Site (VLS);
in California.
The NSTS office has two deputies who are responsible for the
day-to-day management and operation of the Shuttle program. They
are: Deputy Director, NSTS Program, a NASA Headquarters employee
whose duty station is at JSC, and the Deputy Director, NSTS
Operations, also a NASA Headquarters employee, whose duty station is
at KSC. Both individuals report directly to the NSTS director.
Specific major responsibilities of the Deputy Director, NSTS
Program, include the following:
%Establishing policy and providing continuous direction to all
elements engaged in Shuttle program activities.
%Establishing and controlling the Level II requirements baseline
that provides the detailed requirements that supplement and implement
the Level I requirements.
%Detailed program planning, budgeting, scheduling, system
configuration management and program direction.
%System engineering and integration of the flight vehicle, ground
systems and facilities.
%Integration of payloads with orbiter.
%Mission planning and integration.
There are five organizational elements under the Deputy Director,
NSTS Program, charged with accomplishing the management
responsibilities of the program. They are: NSTS Engineering
Integration, NSTS Management Integration, NSTS Program Control and
NSTS Integration and Operations -- all of which are located at JSC.
The fifth division is the Shuttle Projects Office, located at MSFC,
which has overall management and coordination of the MSFC elements --
the solid rocket boosters, external tank and main engines -- involved
in the Shuttle program.
The Deputy Director, NSTS Operations, on the other hand, is
specifically charged with the following major functions:
%Formulating policy, program plans and budget requirements in
support of Shuttle operations at KSC, JSC, Edwards AFB and Vandenberg
AFB, as well as other program operations facilities including the
worldwide contingency landing sites.
%Final vehicle preparation, mission execution and return of the
orbiter for processing for its next flight.
%Management of the presentation and scheduling of the Flight
Readiness Review (FRR).
%Chairing and management of the Mission Management Team (MMT).
The duties of the NSTS Deputy Director, Operations, are carried out
by three Operations Integration offices located at JSC, KSC and MSFC.
Management relationships in the centralized NSTS organization are
configured into four basic management levels which are designed to
reduce the potential for conflict between the program organizations
and NASA institutional organizations.
The NSTS Director serves as the Level I manager and is responsible
for the overall program requirements, budgets and schedules.
The NSTS Deputy Directors are Level II managers and responsible for
management and integration of all elements of the program. This
includes integrated flight and ground system requirements, schedules
and budgets.
NSTS project managers located at JSC, KSC and MSFC are classified as
Level III managers and are responsible for managing design,
qualification and manufacturing of Shuttle components, as well as a
launch and landing operations.
NSTS design authority personnel and contractors are Level IV
managers and are responsible for the design, development,
manufacturing, test and qualification of Shuttle systems.
LAUNCH CONSTRAINT PROCEDURES
As part of the FRR, a launch constraints list is established and
approved by the Associate Administrator. The Deputy Director, NSTS
Operations, has the responsibility to tract each of the constraints
and to assure that they are properly closed out prior to the L-2 day
MMT review. The Associate Administrator or his designee (Director,
NSTS) has the final closeout authority.
LAUNCH DECISION PROCESS
Major decision-making meetings leading to a decision to launch are
FRRs and MMT reviews.
The FRR is usually held 2 weeks before a scheduled launch. Its
chairman is the Associate Administrator for Space Flight. Present at
the review are all senior program and field organization management
officials and support contractor representatives.
During the review, each manager must assess his readiness for launch
based on hardware status, problems encountered during launch
processing, launch constraints and open items. Each NASA project
manager and major Shuttle component support contractor representative
is required to sign a Certificate of Flight Readiness.
The MMT, made up of program/project level managers, and chaired by
the Deputy Director, NSTS Operations, provides a forum for resolving
problems and issues outside the guidelines and constraints
established for the Launch and Flight Directors.
The MMT will be activated at launch minus 2 days (L-2) for a launch
countdown status briefing. The objective of the L-2 day meeting is a
assess any deltas to flight readiness since the FRR and to give a
"go/no-go" to continue the countdown.
The MMT will remain active during the final countdown and will
develop recommendations on vehicle anomalies and required changes to
previously agreed to launch commit criteria. The MMT chairman will
give the Launch Director a "go" for coming out of the L-9 minute hold
and is responsible for the final "go/no-go" decision.
MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONS
In the area of management communications, weekly integrated program
schedules are published which provide detailed data from each project
element and the NSTS Engineering Office. These widely distributed
schedules are designed to create management awareness of the
interrelated tasks and critical program paths needed to meet
important program milestones.
Additionally, all project and program management personnel meet
monthly at the Program Director Management Review to brief the
program status and to resolve any program issues and concerns. This
review is followed by a meeting of the Management Council to also
review status and to resolve any issues brought forward by the
Director, NSTS.