A Case Study in NASA-DoD - The Black Vault

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PREFACE
This report was prepared as a dissertation in partial fulfillment
of the requirements of the doctoral degree in policy analysis at The
Rand Graduate Institute. The faculty conmittee that supervised and
approved the dissertation consisted of Bruce Goeller, Chairman, R.V.L.
Cooper, and L. V. Scifers.
The report includes comparative program costs associated with
the use of various standardized spacecraft for Air Force Space Test
Program missions to be flown on the space shuttle during the 1980-1990
time period (the original study was completed, under the joint sponsorship
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department
of Defense). The first phase of the study considered a variety
of procurement mixes composed of existing or programmed NASA
standard spacecraft designs and a new Air Force standard spacecraft
design, the results of which were briefed to a joint NASA/Air Force
audience in July 1976. The second phase considered additional procurement
options using an upgraded version of an existing NASA design;
this phase was presented to the clients in November 1976.
For this report, the results of the two-phase study are cast in
the broader policy context of NASA-DoD cooperation in space activities
by examining the experience gained by NASA and DoD during the 1958-
1965 time period. Also analyzed are the organizational interactions
surrounding the case study, as well as the problems and prospects of
applying the lessons learned from the NASA-DoD cooperation experience
to other situations.
The study results should be useful to NASA and Air Force space
program offices involved in operational or experimental missions and
to those concerned with the NASA-DoD coordination and cooperation in
space activities. Because the impact of various tariff rates is examined,
the results should also be of interest to those concerned with
determining the shuttle tariff rate structure or with shuttle operations.
Although the study examines procurement options affecting both
NASA and Air Force programs, the results should not be interpreted