Dear SAE 550 Class Members--

Here are some HINTS regarding completion of
Homework #2 (for Space Station Freedom).

You'll need TWO examples of FOL #1:
"Politics, not Technology, Controls What
Technology is Allowed to Achieve". Why
were some of the cost-saving technical
ideas (e.g. advanced space suits, life
support systems, etc.) abandoned? Were
there any special activities required to
obtain promised funding? Why did we
abandon the made-in-USA design, and use
Russian hardware to start the new station?
And now that the Russians are leaving, how
will that control International Space
Station technology in the future?

You'll need TWO examples of FOL #2:
"Cost Rules". What happened with estimated
costs, and why did they change?  Look at
the corollaries to FOL #2: was there a case
where someone had to overstate the benefits
and understate the costs, just to get the
program started?

You'll need TWO examples of FOL #3:
"A Strong, Coherent Constituency Is
Essential". Why break SSF into Work
Packages?  And how were Contractors
involved? Why was the Death Spiral so
damaging?

You'll need TWO examples of FOL #4:
"Technical Problems Become Political
Problems". Look at the impact of various
technical reports.  And as with any major
development program, there were technical
issues that had enormous political
repercussions.

You'll need TWO examples of FOL #5:
"The Best Technical Solution is not
Necessarily the Best Political Solution".
Take a look at the Clinton redesign options.
Which one was chosen by the NASA as the
best technical solution, and why?  Also
indicate which one was "best" for the
political system, and why.  Another good
example can be found in the technical issues
of integrating Russian and American space
hardware towards the end of the case study.

You'll need ONE example of any ONE of the
Additional FOLs.  There are several good
examples of "Timing is Everything", such as
technical review reports showing up at
inopportune times.

Dr. Elliot Axelband
axelband@rand.org
axelband@usc.edu

Ken Cureton (TA)
cureton@usc.edu