Acta Astronautica Vol. 25, No. 5/6, pp. 339-346, 1991 0094-5765/91 $3.00 + 0.00 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright © 1991 Pergamon Press pie

THE ADVANCED LAUNCH SYSTEM: APPLICATION OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES TO

LOW-COST SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENTt

M. G. WOLFE

The Aerospace Corp., P.O. Box 92957, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957, U.S.A.

T. G. ROTHWELL

U.S. Air Force Space Division, U.S.A.

D. A. ROSENBERG

ISX Corp., U.S.A.

and

M. B. OLIVER

General Dynamics Space Systems Division, Calif., U.S.A.

(Received 29 June 1990; received for publication 7 February 1991)

Abstract--Recognizing that a major inhibitor of man's rapid expansion of the use of space is the high cost (direct and induced) of space transportation, the U.S. has embarked on a major national program to radically reduce the cost of placing payloads into orbit while, at the same time, making equally radical improvements inlaunch system operability. The program is entitled "The Advanced Launch System" (ALS) and is a joint Department of Defense/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (DoD/ NASA) program which will provide launch capability in the post 2000 timeframe. It is currently in Phase II (System Definition), which began in January 1989, and will serve as a major source of U.S. launch system technology over the next several years. The ALS is characterized by a new approach to space system design, development, and operation. The practices that are being implemented by the ALS are expected to affect the management and technical operation of all future launch systems. In this regard, the two most significant initiatives being implemented on the ALS program are the practices of Total Quality Management (TQM) and the Unified Information System (Unis). TQM is a DoD initiative to improve the quality of the DoD acquisition system, contractor management systems, and the technical disciplines associated with the design, development, and operation of major systems. TQM has been mandated for all new programs and affects the way every group within the system currently does business. In order to implement the practices of TQM, new methods are needed. A program on the scale of the ALS generates vast amounts of information which must be used effectively to make sound decisions. Unis is an information network that will connect all ALS participants throughout all phases of the ALS develop- ment. Unis is providing support for project management and system design, and in following phases will provide decision support for launch operations, computer integrated manufacturing, automated ground operation systems, and any other computer applications. Unis is providing information to a dynamic computerized ALS Model (ALSYM) which is a decision aiding tool, supporting the ALS design efforts. ALSYM will evolve to support operations decision making as the program matures. These efforts are expected to serve as a model for other DoD and NASA large-scale system developments.

1. BACKGROUND

The Uni ted States Air Force Space Command ( S P A C E C M D ) and the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis t ra t ion/Headquarters ( N A S A / H Q ) have identified specific Depar tment of Defense (DoD) and N A S A needs in the late 1990s for a new space launch system for cargo transport which provides substantially improved reliability, operability, and

tPaper IAF-89-229 presented at the 40th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Malaga, Spain, 7-13 October 1989.

economy over current systems [1,2]. The program objective of the ALS is to fulfill these needs.

The ALS systems design effort is supported by a technology program consisting of approx. 80 Advanced Development Programs (ADPs) which are underway in Government and Industry laboratories across the U.S. The goal of the technology program is to revitalize the nation's space transportat ion technology/industrial base, providing benefits to other launch system programs in addition to the ALS.

The ALS is envisioned as a family of new gener- ation launch systems, applying existing and emerging

339

340 M.G. WOLFE e t al.

200

100

300 ~EM~IZNCE

IIII irllrlf ~

RATED PAYLOAD 4 0 - S0 ILLB 40 - S0 KLB S 0 - 110 K~.B I 0 0 - 200 KLB

BOOSTER TYPE STAGZ & HALF AL8 - aRM TITAN SRMU STS

BOOSTER PROP. LO2 1/..112 SOLID SOLID LO2 1 I,,112

# OF BOOSTKRS N / A 4 - 8 2 - 4 2 - 4

80- 120 ID.,B

ALS LRB

LO2 / L~2

1

220 - 400K

ALS LRB

LO~ i ~-n9

2-4

Fig. 1. The ALS family.

technology to attaining ambitious, reliability, oper- ability, and cost goals, and ultimately providing a capability for delivering a range of cargo sizes from several thousand to over 220,000 lb to low Earth orbit. The ALS will initially share the total launch traffic demand with other comtemporary expendable launch vehicles (such as Atlas, Delta, and Titan), as well as with the Space Shuttle, while providing

increased lift capability for larger cargoes. In response to a Presidential directive, ALS advanced develop- ments and design concepts also will be applied to improve the reliability, operability, and economy of contemporary commercial launch systems. A typical ALS family of vehicles is illustrated in Fig. 1. The current ALS development schedule is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Seven Contracts

I[~IASE II Three Contracts

80 Teeh Demos

One Contract

,I~^,, O.°.

ALS C ~ ~ I n

--,.,. ~CDR

I ALS Oevelogmonl

i

Fig. 2. Program development schedule.

ILC

Advanced Launch System 341

The ALS will emphasize Total Quality Management (TQM) principles [3] throughout its life cycle and will be developed in accordance with the USAF R&M 2000 Process [4,5] including variability reduction tech- niques. The concurrent engineering practices which are inherent in TQM will be supported by Unis and ALSYM.

The implementing command is the Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) which has established the Advanced Launch System Joint Program Office at the Air Force Space Systems Division (AF/SSD). The supporting command is Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC). The using command is Air Force Space Command. NASA, as part of the ALS Joint Program Office, shares all the roles and responsibilities of Air Force Systems Command as the implementing agency.

The ALS is required to conform to the Computer- Aided Acquisition and Logistics Support (CALS) [6] initiative currently being mandated throughout the DoD. Unis is serving as a test bed for future CALS implementations.

2. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

2.1. Definition

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a modern management concept for achieving higher quality, reliability, and producibility at lower cost. It is a process-oriented, information-driven approach that focuses on continuous improvement and teamwork. It is based on the concepts of Drs W. E. Deming and J. H. Jaran [7]. These concepts have subsequently been developed into a comprehensive strategy which emphasizes:

• process • quality first • customer satisfaction • management commitment • worker (shop floor) involvement • supplier subcontractor participation

• dedication to continuous improvement.

2.2. Application

TQM has had a wide variety of successful applica- tions in commercial and industrial sectors worldwide. In Japan it has evolved over the last 35 years with outstanding success, as evidenced by Japanese domin- ance of the world markets in areas such as consumer electronics and automobiles.

The U.S. aerospace industry has been considered (and considered itself) a leader in the application of technology and also the originator and consistently successful exponent of the "Systems Engineering" approach to the acquisition and operation of very large-scale systems. In recent years these "truths" have become subject to question, particularly in the space transportation sector of the aerospace industry.

Concern has pervaded the DoD, which has given top priority to TQM as a vehicle for instituting continuous quality improvement in all its operations and as a major strategy to meet improved productivity. On 30 March 1988, former Secretary of Defense Carlucci issued a formal statement outlining the DoD position on the subject. This was followed by the release, in August 1988, of a master plan to implement TQM in all DoD operations.

Responding to the DoD initiative, the Air Force Systems Command has ordered all acquisition divisions to implement al policy of continuous quality improvement in all procurement activities. Accord- ingly, the Air Force Space Systems Division (AF/SSD) has developed a TQM implementation plan and a TQM program of education and training for all personnel. The ALS has adopted a TQM strategy requiring all participating contractors to institute TQM methods and techniques in their ALS program activities.

2.3. Requirements

TQM utilizes a variety of techniques and tools to: minimize variability in the design, manufacturing, production, and operation processes; ensure that quality is incorporated "up front" rather than by the unreliable and costly method of inspecting the product after it is produced; and provide an environment in which simultaneous (or concurrent) engineering can take place. TQM cannot occur without high quality, timely information available to all human/machine elements throughout all phases of the target program. The ALS is defining and developing an Information Systems Segment, in consonance with the Vehicle Segment and the Operations Segment, to ensure that this aspect of TQM can be fully implemented.

3. INFORMATION SYSTEMS SEGMENT

3.1. Why a segment?

Space program information systems have histori- cally been developed in a chaotic, disintegrated man- ner; automated systems often develop independently to form "islands of automation"; and shared data bases often contain redundant and/or inaccurate data. This is because, traditionally, attention is focused on the flight article design during the concept definition phase and the requirements for "software", as it is traditionally termed, are derived from hardware requirements after the hardware design is frozen. The consequences of this policy have been consistent cost and schedule overruns.

ALS is the first DoD/NASA program to introduce as part of its basic System Requirements Document (SRD), an Information Systems Segment. This new segment is ensuring that information systems require- ments are treated at the same level as the vehicle and operations requirements. The two primary elements within the Information Systems Segment are Unis and ALSYM.

342 M.G. WOLFE et al.

WSMC

AFSSD/d SPACECMD

AFB

• Primary Node I

• Suppo~ Node

Fig. 3. Scope of Unis.

KSC/ESMC

3.2. The Unified Information System (Unis)t

In recent years information systems technology has made rapid strides in the U.S.A. Existing and emerg- ing computer technologies are being applied early in the ALS program to avoid past information manage- ment problems. The goal of Unis is to integrate all ALS information to support the efficent design, development, and operation of the ALs. Unis is an information system:

• Fulfilling, on a timely basis, the information and information flow requirements of the ALS.

• Serving personnel of the ALS Joint DoD/NASA program office, ALS system design and Advanced Development Program contractors, and other contractors and government agencies involved in the ALS program.

• Consisting of ALS applications and distributed databases interconnected on an ALS computer/ communications network (having appropriate accessibility controls), on which are also inter- connected selected applications and distributed databases maintained by contractors and govern- ment agencies involved in the ALS Program.

• Configured, developed, verified, validated, and managed in an integrated manner under ALS Program Office control through the Information Systems Segment.

Innovative prototypes of Unis were produced by the ALs Phase I contractors. In Phase II all three prime contractors have produced their own versions

tFor a more comprehensive discussion see [8].

of Unis, which they will continue to improve through- out this phase. The contractors have been directed to implement a "paper-less" system and are supplying all contract deliverables, design documents, drawings, program management data, etc., in an electronic format.

Unis is currently serving: the ALS JPO; the three prime contractors, Boeing Aerospace, General Dynamics Space Systems, and Martin Marietta Cor- poration; a number of ADP sites; and a number of government agency sites, as shown in Fig. 3.

In addition to connecting all of the ALS par- ticipants, Unis encapsulates all of the information system applications. This includes software for the flight vehicle, the ground operations, manufacturing, logistics, program management/support, etc. Unis is extremely broad in scope, encompassing all ALS information systems.

A physically distributed, but logically singular data base will be an intrinsic part of the network. The extent of the distributed data base is shown in Fig. 4. Unis will support a wide variety of users and informa- tion requirements and its functions will be transparent to its users, i.e. well integrated within their activities. Emerging technology in the area of hypermedia will simplify information entry and access. Autonomous, intelligent systems will manage Unis' distributed data bases to decrease the traditional tendency to maintain redundant information. In summary, Unis must store, receive, reduce, and display ALS data/information; optimize the correct flow of information between ALS elements; and treat interfaces as an integral part of each constituent element. All participants in the ALS program (humans and machines) are expected to be Unis users.

Advanced Launch Sys~m 343

ALSYM Results Standards & Practices Specifications Requirements Database Structured Analysis Engineering Design Engineering Database Analysis Tools Geometry Tech Class Codes Design-Drawings Quality Data Configuration Data Test Plans & Data Process Planning Tools & Fixtures Mfg Guidelines Vendor Selection Cost Data Numerical Control Plans & Schedules Assembly Plan. & Cntrl. Control

Job Schedule Part Control & Release Integration Test Product Specs Operating Procedures Maintenance Procs. Personnel & Training Safety, Security Transportation/Handling Test & Support Equip. Supply Support Human Factors Maintainability Facilities Timelines System Level LSA Equipment Level LSA Technical Publications Assembly Status Integration Status Payload Status Propellant Status Launch Pad Status Fig. 4. Unis database.

GSE Status Vehicle Health Mission Plans/Schedules Launch Ops/Status Weather Data Communications Range Ops/Status FAn, Database Mission Ops/Status Recovery Ops/Status Logistics Ops/Status Maintenance Management Schedules Cost Data Trends Productivity Orders Industry Data Bills of Matedal Admin. Records Product Goals...

3.3. The Advanced Launch System Model (ALSYM)

3.3.1. Purpose. ALSYM is a dynamic systems analysis computer environment tasked with modeling all aspects of the ALS. ALSYM is a design tool which must answer both high and low level questions, generally providing the answer to "What if?" (for a more detailed description, see [9,10]). This implies that the model must function at a number of levels, providing quick turnaround rough order of magnitude results for management, and more detailed decision justification for engineers. Traceability of ALSYM results is essential to its ultimate credibility. Modeling the "entire system" implies that ALSYM must:

• Provide an end-to-end simulation of component procurements, manufacture, check-out, process- ing, launch, recovery and refurbishment of the ALS.

• Quantify design, development, test and evaluation requirements.

• Develop facilitization requirements and schedules.

• Calculate system performance and reliability. • Determine cost, funding and cost per pound of

payload delivered. • Provide an operability analysis.

During this phase of the ALS program the primary function of ALSYM is in the area of understanding and analyzing ALS requirements. ALSYM is being used to gain confidence in and justify ALS goals and objectives. It is the principal tool for: verifying and validating the design requirements; testing these design requirements for compatibility with the system requirements; testing the design and system require- ments for compatibility; and building a bottoms-up life-cycle cost estimate with traceability to all back- up data, analysis, trade-offs, sensitivity analyses, testing, and technology data that supports the cost analyses.

C ED$ Exec~iYe Database

System

Fig. 5. ALSYM structure.

)

344 M.G. WOLFE et al.

3.3.2. Structure. As depicted by Fig. 5, there are three major components within ALSYM:

• Infrastructure Model (IM) which includes an end-to-end flow of hardware subassemblies/ elements from manufacturing through produc- tion, operations, refurbishment, and return to inventory.

• Performance and Reliability Model (PRM) which: models the reliability of the system to the component level; simulates vehicle/component failure/recovery; assesses system operability; and simulates the various phases of flight to deter- mine performance.

• Integrated Cost Model (ICM) which produces bottoms-up cost estimates and interfaces with the infrastructure and performance and reliability models to create Life-Cycle-Cost (LCC) esti- mates.

Layered over these models is a Global Evaluation Model (GEM) which enables top-level (executive) use of ALSYM through a friendly interface. GEM pro- vides the capability to: analyzes acquisition strategy; analyze impact of changes in budget and funding profiles; and perform system level trades on flight rates, wage rates, cost, risk and other parameters of interest to the executive user. Future versions of GEM will employ intelligent systems technology to provide interactive "improvement suggestions" for all levels of users.

3.3.3. Process development. ALSYM plays a critical role in the overall TQM program for ALS by supporting what we call process development.

What is a process? A process is an activity or operation that produces something. Processes, such as those described in Figure 6 take inputs, produce outputs, and use resources. They are autonomous, goal-directed, and operate under constraints. The complex processes of interest here are composed of sub-processes.? Sub-processes take as inputs the out- puts of other sub-processes and produce outputs that are used as inputs by other sub-processes. There are many levels of sub-processes; a sub-process is explod- able into a lower-level sub-process and implodable into a higher-level process. Implementing TQM de- pends upon understanding, designing, and ultimately, controlling processes.

ALSYM is currently utilized in a mixed process planning/process design capacity. Its purpose is to both aid the design of the ALS operations system, and to support the synthesis of plans for optimizing the utilization of this system.

Simulation based tools for process design/planning are especially critical to large-scale programs if the

tHierarchical decomposition and distributed simulation are two important techniques ALSYM employs to support truly large-scale simulations.

:~It is human nature to assume that what one is working on should be of near "perfect" design (see Fig. 7).

§Simultaneous engineering is a major requirement of TQM.

sl•C°m p°ne n t s d ~ ~

d. Sched. I Veh. I

MFAB

I IRead CI F -~--O

C/O Init. CTcL [

s Launch Sched.

Launch

LCC

Comp. H

VIF /

Launch o i i Vehicle

~ O Readiness

C0nd. Pad

MFAB - Manufactuldl lg & Assembly HufldIl~

VIF - Vehlde Integrat ion Fac/]Ity

CIF - Cargo I n t e n t i o n Facl]t W

LCC - Launch Control

Complex

Fig. 6. Typical high-level process.

ubiquitous problem of "sub-optimization":~ is to be avoided.

By providing an accurate and decomposable model of the ALS to all team members, ALSYM helps en- sure that all of the "pieces" will indeed "fit together". ALSYM provides a strutured approach for the simul- taneous engineering§ of the entire system. Each func- tional design area is responsible for the correctness of a portion of the complete ALS model, and has visibility into all the other functional areas [11] for other human interface issues associated with design decision support). This provides a framework with which to assess the "downstream" implications of any design decision. Users from any functional area can view what is being baselined by other functions, and can analyze inconsistencies. Once all information has been inputted by the functional groups, the system analyst (or possibly an Engineering Review Board) again checks to see that this description is complete and consistent. For each analysis run ALSYM provides a standardized set of outputs for decision making.

3.3.4. Developmental issues. Just as ALSYM is a tool for supporting TQM, its development has been an early application of TQM principles. Under a more traditional software development methodology, numerous documents including software requirements and development plans are written, debated, and re- written; then the development team is "locked away" for 2 or 3 years to build the finished product. Instead, ALSYM is adhering to the philosophies of rapid prototyping and modular development. ALSYM

Advanced Launch System 345

FACILITIES

DONE I

0.0000005 OLERANCE ~

\ / ENGINEERING

IRING ( N2H4"BOOM

OPERATIONS j

Fig. 7

development has occurred over many "design/code/ test" iterations, thus allowing the system's users to play a critical and continuing role in defining ALSYM functionality. This has also supported the early use of numerous incremental prototypes by the ALS analysis and design communities. ALSYM is capitalizing on modem object-oriented design and implementation methodologies which allow capabilities to be added, enhanced, or swapped out without major perturba- tions of the development process. This methodology will ultimately lead to a "generalizable" system.

Unlike most simulation-based analysis tools which require the expertise of a skilled simulationist, ALSYM is being developed for operation by non- computer experts. Rather than relying upon a system "guru", ALSYM models are comprehensible to the designers and analysts themselves. This avoids two common pitfalls associated with comparable tools: the meaning of an ALSYM model is visible to its user community, rather than buried in inscrutable simula- tion code; and ALSYM models are "owned" by their user communities, rather than closely held by experts who are expensive, mobile, and mortal, t ALSYM, on the other hand, is being designed to provide the functional users access not only to the data, but also the logic which is used to model their specific areas. In this way, ALSYM provides a more realistic system model which is more likely to be utilized by the designers and analysts it was built for.

tAll too many simulation tools are simply "moth-balled" when their design expert moves to other projects.

3.3.5. Generalization to other environments. ALSYM's "process development" orientation makes it an extremely general and reusable tool. Indeed, one of the ALS contractors has already applied their ALSYM prototype to an operational space launch system.

General Dynamics used their version of ALSYM to analyze new ways of processing the Atlas launch vehicle. In 6 weeks they were able to analyze six different processing options for Atlas and Atlas/ Centaur derivatives, utilizing a number of different types of data. Their goal was to reduce the processing critical path, while simultaneously maintaining the current work-force size. The actual time to perform the computer analysis was one day, the majority of the six weeks was spent understanding the data, and determining what factors the Atlas system was sensi- tive to. This is the TQM philosophy of process control. The majority of time was spent working with the personnel who truly understand the Atlas, and deter- mining how such things as scheduled maintenance are accomplished to develop accurate logic for the model. Time was also spent identifying and understanding the driving parameters for the Atlas system. For each of the seven areas studied, factors which drove pro- cessing timeliness were analyzed. Once the data input format was established and logic was incorporated, model runs were trivial.

The work accomplished by the General Dynamics team in 6 weeks was so impressive, they are consider- ing other applications such as Titan/Centaur and advanced upper stage programs for ALSYM. Thus

346 M.G. WOLFE et al.

ALS-developed technology is migrating to other U.S. space booster programs.

Finally, the process-development metaphor which has been so successfully applied to ALSYM is being generalized to produce a commercial product targeted for designers, engineering managers, and analysts. This system, currently under development at ISX Cor- poration, will provide graphically-oriented tools for designing and implementing process models, as well as an integrated framework for performing analysis on these tools. This framework will utilize intelligent systems technology to provide advanced features to aid in the model development/analysis process. These include component library management, improve- ment suggestion, and an adaptive (user-model based) human interface, tailored to support the efficient collaboration of work-group members.

4. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND GOALS

The TQM philosophy is being energetically pursued in Phase II of the ALS program and the activities within the Information Systems Segement are an important part of this implementation. A paper-less communication system is being implemented by which all contract deliverables, design documents, drawings, program management data, etc. will be transferred. Programmatic information is being transferred be- tween the DoD and N A S A government centers, the prime contractors, and the ADP sites. Unis is becom- ing so important to the success of the ALS program, that virtually all participants (government and indus- try) have been provided with desk-top workstations linked into the Unis network.

ALSYM is currently being utilized to test some system and design requirements. Also cost estimates are required to be derived and justified through ALSYM. ALSYM will also be used to perform cost

benefit analysis of the ADPs and to answer the "what-if" questions as the program is shepherded through the governmental budget approval cycle.

REFERENCES

1. M. G. Wolfe, The coming revolution in space trans- portation. Paper presented at the 39th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Bangalore, India (1988).

2. M. G. Wolfe, The Joint DoD/NASA Advanced Launch System (ALS) Program. Second European Aerospace Conference, Progress in Space Transportation, Stadhalle, Bonn (1989).

3. T. Iura, H. White and L. Forrest, Applying total quality management techniques to the Advanced Launch System Program. Fifth Space Systems Productivity and Manufacturing Conference. Sponsored by the USAF Space Division and the Aerospace Corp. (1988).

4. Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, USAF R&M 2000 Process Office of the Special Assistant for Reliability and Maintainability, Washington, D.C. (1988).

5. B. Johnson, Improving combat capability through R&M 2000 variability reduction. R&M 2000 VRP Report. HQ USAF/LE-RD (1989).

6. DoD, Department of Defense Computer-Aided Acquisition and Logistics Support (CALS) Program Implementation Guide. MIL-HDBK-59 (1988).

7. W. E. Deming, Out of the crises. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1986).

8. S. A. Rosenberg and T. G. Rothwell. The unified information system concept. Paper presented at the 39th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Bangalore, India (1988).

9. D. A. Rosenberg and T. G. Rothwell, Simulation in space transportation system design. Proceedings of WESTEX (1988).

10. S. A. Greenberg and R. B. Nicol, Application of computer simulation life cycle cost management to minimize space transportation system cost. Paper presented at the 40th Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Malaga, Spain (1989).

11. W. L. Bewley and D. A. Rosenberg, AIM: an A-I based decision support system. Proceedings of the Society for Computer Simulation Eastern Multi-Conference, Tampa, Fla (1989).