Conference 7.286::space

833.0. "Advisory Council Report: Don't forfeit satellite rescue ability" by PRAGMA::GRIFFIN (Dave Griffin) Mon Nov 09 1992 17:51

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                   November 6, 1992

RELEASE:  92-197


        A task group, looking into issues concerning future satellite rescue
and repair, says NASA should continue to perform such missions, but only when
they "produce genuine benefits to U.S. interests in view of the inherent risks
to the Shuttle and its crew."

        "The unique ability to accomplish satellite rescue and repair should
not be forfeited," said task force Chairman Dr. Eugene E. Covert. "But these
missions pose inherent risks to the Shuttle and should be undertaken only when
the benefits outweigh the risks." Covert added the authority to employ this
capability should rest solely with the NASA Administrator.

        The NASA Advisory Council Group Task Force was established at the
direction of NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. Chairman Covert is a professor
of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute Of Technology. Vice
Chairman was former astronaut Lt. Gen. Thomas Stafford, USAF (ret).

        The charter of the group was to recommend "a policy outlining the
criteria, the design standards and the pricing model to guide NASA in assessing
the responsibilities for government and non-government satellite rescue and
repair missions."

Conclusions and Recommendations

        While pointing out that opportunities for performing unanticipated
satellite rescue or repair missions in the future are likely to be rare, the
report says the unique ability to accomplish such missions should not be
forfeited.

        "We estimated that only 1 percent of the total satellites to be
launched in the next few years will be candidates for rescue and repair," said
Covert.

        And while the trend for scientific satellites is for smaller satellites
that do not require on-orbit maintenance, the group did say the Shuttle should
continue to support those science payloads designed to be serviced, such as the
Hubble Space Telescope.

"Flexible" Approach to Pricing

        The report notes that if NASA charged customers the full cost of a
Shuttle mission, the economic benefit to the manufacturer, the owner or the
insurer "would be greatly diminished."

        The report urges NASA to keep its satellite rescue pricing policy broad
enough to accommodate U.S. government agencies and commercial enterprises as
well as international government and commercial clients.  Covert said the group
recommends a pricing approach that would vary depending upon the customer for
the mission.

        The task force recommends that non-NASA U.S. government customers pay
marginal costs which NASA defines as the cost of adding or deleting one mission
from the manifest.

        Reimbursable customers (commercial and international) should pay the
marginal cost for the mission as well as any costs up front which are unique to
that mission.

        "In addition to the marginal and unique costs, we recommend that if the
mission is a success, NASA should receive a negotiated portion of the revenues
until the full cost of the rescue is paid," Covert said.  The government should
not charge customers for Shuttle replacement, NASA facilities or facilities
amortization costs.

        If the rescue provides significant benefit to NASA or the U.S.
government, Covert said the task force recommended consideration be given to
sharing costs with the customer.

Safety Remains Top Priority

        The task force said NASA should continue to ensure that safety
requirements are met for all satellite rescue and repair missions.

        "We note in the report the Intelsat rescue mission did not have a
mission manager," Covert said. "We recommend a mission manager be named as soon
as NASA has accepted a mission, and this person should be responsible for all
aspects of preflight mission execution."

        The report also recommends added emphasis on training and the upgrade
of EVA (extravehicular activity) including use of state of the art EVA tools
and training methods.

        It also calls for the maximum use of individuals with previous
experience, both internal and external to NASA, to help ensure mission safety
and success.

Should Stress Risks

        Covert said one of the most important findings that came out of the
study was the risks of performing these types of missions.  Noting that rescue
missions on land or at sea are not always successful, the committee recommended
NASA remind the public of the risks associated with rescue missions.

        "There may be times in the future when NASA is not successful in
rescuing and repairing a satellite.  That does not mean the total, overall
Shuttle flight was a failure," he said.

        Covert said the extensive planning and training that must be done to
prepare for and carry out a complex mission such as a satellite rescue and
repair can possibly provide valuable information that will benefit space
operations in the future.

        "But the most valuable experience and information is gained from
disciplined execution of carefully planned experiments," he said.