A Case Study in NASA-DoD - The Black Vault

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would be needed for the AEM to operate at geosynchronous altitude. This
configuration is referred to henceforth as the upgraded AEM.
Table 12 compares the cost of upgraded AEM/STPSS and upgraded
AEM/MMS combinations with those considered in the previous nominal case.
In that excursion the upgraded AEM/MMS combination appeared to have
program costs more than 20 percent below those of the other procurement
options. The principal reasons for this are: (1) With the additional
performance capabilities, the relatively low-cost upgraded AEM1 is a
substitute for the more expensive STPSS on nearly all missions, and
(2) when the upgraded AEM is used in combination with the MMS, the nonrecurring
cost of the STPSS is not incurred.
Table 12
EFFECT OF THE UPGRADED AEMa
No. of Max. No. Program Cost (s millions)
Payloads of Payloads
in per Upgraded- Upgraded-
Case Program Spacecraft STPSS MMS AEM/STPSS AEM/NMS AEM/STPSS AEfM/NMS
114 13 (160) (162) (157) (156) (148) 99
114
228
6
13
(222)
(244)
(263)
(247)
(210)
(244)
(240)
(240)
(172)
(233)
146
175
228 6 (373) (418) (342) (392) 298 294
Increased esti- 114 13 (160) (162) (157) (156) (175) 121
mates of 114 6 (222) (263) (210) (240) (215) 183
upgraded AE24 228 13 244 247 244 240 (281) 231
cost 228 6 373 (418) 342 (392) 368 371
aFor a given row, program costs within 10 percent of the lowest value are
ct in parentheses.
To test the sensitivity of the above result to the estimated cost
of the upgraded AEM, nonrecurring cost was increased by $10 million
and unit 1 recurring cost was increased from $2.44 million to $4.88
million. The results, also shown in Table 12, indicate that the upgraded
AEM/MMS combination continues to be the preferred procurement
We have assumed that the upgraded AEM is limited to a payload of
150 ib, a data rate of 8 kbps, experimental power of 40-50 W and no
encryption capability--the same as the basic AEM.