ASK OCE — November 3, 2006 — Vol. 1, Issue 15 On September 26, 2006, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft completed an unusually demanding eclipse season. The spacecraft functioned in an ultra-low power mode dubbed “Sumo” (short for “survival mode”) that allowed it to conserve the power necessary for its survival […]
ASK OCE — November 3, 2006 — Vol. 1, Issue 15 On the morning of November 9, 1967, the five massive engines in the first stage of the Saturn V ignited, lifting the unmanned Apollo 4 (AS-501) skyward from the Kennedy Space Center.
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 Phil Sumrall has a history of doing the heavy lifting. After beginning his career as a junior engineer working on the Saturn V rocket that sent the Apollo astronauts to the moon, he now leads the development of Ares V, the heavy-lift launch […]
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 What’s the relationship between an organization’s performance and its culture? Dr. Howard McCurdy posed this question in his 1993 book Inside NASA, and in doing so he identified the core values and assumptions that became the basis for NASA’s technical culture. Over the […]
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 The Department of Defense needs to do a better job of estimating initial costs for its space acquisitions program, according to a November 2006 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 A tireless spirit of problem solving in the name of a common goal. A seasoned team of engineers and managers. The vital importance of learning from mistakes. Those were the keys to Apollo’s success, according to retired NASA engineer Dr. Henry Pohl. In a […]
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 Up is up and down is down. That much is easy for a pilot flying by the clear light of day. But at night or when a fog rolls in, a pilot must rely on instruments for guidance.
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 Blue Origin, the private space program funded by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, executed its first low-altitude test launch from its West Texas spaceport on November 14, 2006.
ASK OCE — January 12, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 1 By Chris Scolese This issue examines some of the key elements of NASA’s early culture. How did a government agency go from inception to the moon landing in just over ten years? What can we learn from this as NASA faces the […]
