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NASA, at the direction of its Administrator, is undertaking a grand challenge of change for "faster, better, cheaper; strong emphasis is now being placed on staying within cost projections while still meeting schedule and performance goals. This led NASA to mandate fixed-price, capped-cost programs. The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is the first mission to be funded in this manner. Consequently, the ACE Project has sought novel approaches and techniques to constrain costs without compromising schedule or science goals. A key approach that has been adopted is novel, multiple reusage of the ACE control center subsystem. ACE will use a version of the Transportable Payload Operations Control Center (TPOCC) for its mission operations. It was determined in Phase 8 of the ACE Project that a potential existed for substantial savings if the adaptation of the TPOCC for ACE Mission Operations could include adapting it as well for use as the primary component in the Ground Support Equipment for Integration and Testing of the ACE Spacecraft and, at the same time, also adapting it be the basic component in the ACE Science Center; thus, realizing three separate uses for essentially the same system. Implementing this approach required enhancing the TPOCC requirements, significant changes in its development schedule, and changes in the allocation and activities of personnel responsible for development of ACE operations. This paper discusses how these issues were addressed, the unforeseen problems that have been encountered, how these problems have been resolved, and an evaluation of what this approach portends for application to future missions. |
