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Systems Engineering Techniques for ALS Decision MakingThe Advanced Life Support (ALS) Metric is the predominant tool for predicting the cost of ALS systems. Metric goals for the ALS Program are daunting, requiring a threefold increase in the ALS Metric by 2010. Confounding the problem, the rate new ALS technologies reach the maturity required for consideration in the ALS Metric and the rate at which new configurations are developed is slow, limiting the search space and potentially giving the perspective of a ALS technology, the ALS Metric may remain elusive. This paper is a sequel to a paper published in the proceedings of the 2003 ICES conference entitled, "Managing to the metric: an approach to optimizing life support costs." The conclusions of that paper state that the largest contributors to the ALS Metric should be targeted by ALS researchers and management for maximum metric reductions. Certainly, these areas potentially offer large potential benefits to future ALS missions; however, the ALS Metric is not the only decision-making tool available to the community. To facilitate decision-making within the ALS community a combination of metrics should be utilized, such as the Equivalent System Mass (ESM)-based ALS metric, but also those available through techniques such as life cycle costing and faithful consideration of the sensitivity of the assumed models and data. Often a lack of data is cited as the reason why these techniques are not considered for utilization. An existing database development effort within the ALS community, known as OPIS, may provide the opportunity to collect the necessary information to enable the proposed systems analyses. A review of these additional analysis techniques is provided, focusing on the data necessary to enable these. The discussion is concluded by proposing how the data may be utilized by analysts in the future.
Document ID
20040087167
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Rodriquez, Luis F. (National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council Houston, TX, United States)
Drysdale, Alan E. (Boeing Aerospace Co. Kennedy Space Center, FL, United States)
Jones, Harry (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Levri, Julie A. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Meeting Information
Meeting: 34rd International conference on Environmental Systems
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: July 19, 2004
End Date: July 22, 2004
Funding Number(s)
OTHER: 131-20-10
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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