Approximately one-third of the total number of payloads to be carried to low Earth orbit by the Shuttle will be carried on to geosynchronous orbit by the Space Tug. With this number of payloads in geosynchronous orbit, it may become economically attractive to have men there for extended periods of time to service and maintain the payloads on orbit. A system capable of accomplishing this could include a manned Space Tug, a small geosynchronous manned station, and a solarelectric powered "scooter" for on-orbit transportation of payloads.

LUNAR EXPLORATION

Although the Apollo program has been completed, it is believed that one day man will again go to the Moon to continue the exploration program which was so successfully carried out during the six Apollo landing missions. Over the next several years, the primary objective in the lunar areas is to stay abreast of the continuing analysis of the completed lunar missions and to initiate the studies which would define engineering and scientific objectives for future manned lunar missions.

The timing of the achievement of these more advanced programs is clearly dependent upon the national will concerning the direction and thrust of the space program, the availability of the technology necessary to undertake the development of the required systems, and the funds necessary to undertake these developments. The planning process consists basically of the definition of program and system concepts, of technology and funding requirements necessary to achieve these concepts, and the matching of these concepts, technology requirements, and funding implications into overall program alternatives. This is obviously an iterative process in which plans, national objectives and resources must be matched.

The advanced studies program plays a vital role in the process since advanced studies are relied on to develop new program and system concepts, to project tech

nology and funding requirements on a parametric basis so that cost versus achievement trades can be made by agency management and to conceptually design systems to the point that program definition studies can be carried out. In today's labor market the funds being requested for advanced studies support only about 30 to 40 engineers in contractor plants. The benefits that are derived from these funds are, however, far in excess of this rather token contractor representation. These studies provide the means for active exchange of ideas, concepts, and plans between the agency planners and their counterparts in industry. This benefits industry in that it allows them to direct their internally controlled planning and research funds toward those goals that the agency has determined as most advantageous. At the same time, agency planners get the benefit of diverse opinions of the proper goals, programs, or systems as seen from the various economic and geographical vantage points represented by the contractors.

During fiscal year 1973 the advanced studies program concentrated on defining the hardware and operational interfaces between the Space Shuttle, the initial Tug concept, and a representative spectrum of candidate future spacecraft. As shown in figure 200, the fiscal year 1974 studies will examine possible new ap

FY 1974 STUDY PROGRAM EMPHASIS

ADVANCED PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ANALYSIS.

INVESTIGATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF MAJOR OPERATIONAL COST REDUCTIONS AND PERFORMANCE UPRATING OF THE SHUTTLE SYSTEM.

SUPPORTING STUDIES SUCH AS SUBSYSTEM FAILURE TREND ANALYSIS, SYSTEMS SAFETY, AND COST/PERFORMANCE INVESTIGATIONS.

FIGURE 200

NASA HQ MT73-5246 2-7-73

plications of the space transportation system, investigate the necessity for and advisability of improvements or additions to the space transportation system, and will continue the efforts in such areas as safety and the improvement of our cost estimating and cost reduction capabilities.

Changing national needs and priorities require a continuing assessment of the capabilities of space activities as a contributor to the satisfaction of these national needs. Figure 201 (see p. 474) indicates the type of study activity required to perform this assessment. National needs may be defined by the public, by industry, by the scientific community, by the priorities established by the Congress, or by various interest groups. The analysis of capabilities of space activities to meet these needs consists of matching specific needs to specific space functions. Finally, in those cases where a space capability appears to have a potential for contributing to a national needs, program and system concepts must be developed in order to make a proper evaluation of technical feasibility, costs, and

benefits.

A primary objective of the advanced studies program is the investigation of the feasibility of achieving operational cost reductions and performance uprating for presently planned systems, particularly the Shuttle system. It is anticipated that the currently defined Space Shuttle system will permit the achievement of major reductions in the cost of space operations. NASA shall, however, continue to search for new opportunities for cost reduction through system and operational improvements. A small portion of the study program will therefore be directed to examination of the defined Shuttle program and of possibilities for future efficiencies.

Figures 202-3 illustrates a typical support study. This study is designed to provide an independent safety analysis of all phases of the Tug operation from prelaunch through recovery. This chart shows three of the particularly important phases of Tug operations from a safety standpoint. Launch operations safety must include both fueling and abort early in flight. On-orbit safety interfaces include not only Tug-Shuttle interfaces but also Shuttle-Tug-payload interfaces. Safety considerations at landing are particularly critical for nonnormal landings. Data from this study will provide the basis for safety guidelines and requirements. Other supporting studies under consideration include subsystem failure trend analysis and correlation of subsystem costs with performance.

This part of the statement contains the development, test and mission operations portion of the manned space flight research and development budget for fiscal year 1974, $220 million is being requested to support this effort at the three manned space flight centers-Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Kennedy Space Center, and at the four offsite facilities, White Sands Test Facility, Mississippi Test Facility, Slidell Computer Complex, and the Michoud Assembly Facility. This request of $220 million is a reduction of 25 percent from fiscal year 1973.

Industry is utilized to balance and supplement the civil service technical disciplines and to provide unique skills and know-how to operate and maintain the research, development, and test facilities located at the manned centers. The flexibility inherent in this capability to on-going as well as future programs permits the continuing use of the large and extensive facilities built for the Apollo program. By selectively bringing in contractor support. we have been able to retain maximum flexibility in shifting work assignments and priorities to accommodate changes and unanticipated problems as the programs proceed. Over the past decade, industry know-how and expertise has been used extensively in support of highly technical operations such as those in Mission Control Center at the Johnson Center, the Launch Complex at Kennedy and the Structural and Dynamic test facilities at the Marshall Center. In fiscal year 1974, this funding will provide for contractor support of our in-house capability which is necessary for the accomplishment of the present Skylab program and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project; for the spacecraft and ground support equipment and launch

vehicle engineering required for these projects and; for the design, development, and subsystem testing activities associated with the Space Shuttle and for predefinition of future programs. The effort covers a wide spectrum of technical, engineering, scientific, and medical disciplines supporting not only manned space flight programs, but also activities such as unmanned launches, Earth observations, and continuing effort in lunar science.

The work covered by the contracts is generally competed every 3 to 5 years. We have had very keen competitive interest in all areas and are satisfied that competition has been a very positive factor in getting appropriate talent at reasonable costs.

This request of $220 million, which is divided into four project categories, reflects an overall 25 percent reduction from fiscal year 1973. The reduction is primarily due to the completion and delivery of Skylab flight hardware to the Kennedy Center in fiscal year 1973 and the completion of the second 56-day mission in mid-fiscal year 1974, (figure 204).

DEVELOPMENT, TEST & MISSION OPERATIONS
MANNED SPACE FLIGHT REQUIREMENTS
($ MILLIONS)

By the end of fiscal year, it is planned to reduce the contractor support in the order of 2,700 positions, the equivalent of 1,500 man-years.

The remainder of this statement describes some of the facilities and activities requiring contractor support at each of the three centers.

GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

In fiscal year 1974, the Development, Test and Mission Operations budget request for the Marshall Center is $37.0 million, which is a 47 percent reduction from last year.

The contractor support for engineering and technical services and operation of facilities required at the center will be performed by 12 companies.

Engineering services in the areas of electronics, electrical systems and guidance and control is provided by contract with the Sperry Rand Corp. This activity is directed to conducting mathematical and engineering analysis of flight hardware. This includes stress, vibration, thermal and reliability analysis. Engineering services are provided in specialties such as laser techniques, electronics