A Case Study in NASA-DoD - The Black Vault

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was not a major factor in the Air Force's role in carrying out its national
security mission, it represented a decision involving several
millions of dollars; a savings of a few percent, especially during an
era of tight budgets, would make more funds available for other Air
Force projects. Second, the study was in an area where Rand had recognized
competence, i.e., technological-economic analyses of space
systems, and the objectivity needed to evaluate the alternatives. Furthermore,
the availability at Rand of the analytical skills needed for
the study made it possible for the study to be undertaken within a very
short time frame.* Third, as is the case in many studies, Rand's participation
in this study provided the opportunity for updating and expanding
our cost and technical data bases for unmanned spacecraft; an
area that clearly has become the main Air Force and NASA approach in
space research and operational systems since the near-term prospects
for U.S. manned spaceflight (except for the space shuttle) have dimmed
from what they were during the 1960s.
ORGANIZATIONAL INTERACTIONS AFTER THE FIRST PHASE OF THE STANDARD
SPACECRAFT STUDY
As indicated in Sec. IV, the first phase of the case study did
not include the Boeing-designed L-AEM spacecraft. The results from
this phase of the study indicated that the Air Force's preferred procurement
option consisted of a combination of MMS and an upgraded AEM
design.
If the upgraded AEM design did not become available, as described
in Sec. IV, then our results indicated that the Air Force could
pursue the development of its STPSS design without encountering an
economic penalty.
Armed with this conclusion, plus a healthy skepticism of the willingness
of NASA
(1) to provide the MMS on the schedule necessary for
meeting the Air Force's shuttle flight and at a cost approaching that
used in the Rand study, and (2) to upgrade the AEM spacecraft as indicated,
the Air Force Space Test Program Office sent forward through
Although the study took eight months to complete because of the
study extension (consideration of the L-AEM), the Air Force needed results
7ithin four months; this corresponded to the end of the first
phase.