Critical Knowledge Insight

External circumstances can cause the need for NASA programs and projects to adapt and change. 

Team cohesion and good communication are key factors for a team to be successful on a project.

Carefully designing a customer-facing management organization can build strong working relationships that help complex missions and programs succeed.

Micrometeoroids and orbital debris (MMOD) produce an impact threat that could cause damage to or even the loss of a spacecraft.

Learning throughout your program and project will lead to better performance for future programs and projects.

Astronaut training is critically important to the success and safety of missions.

Involving logistics engineers in development and operations can help save a project time and budget.

Programs with international partnerships benefit from having a process framework in place to help with timing of key programmatic decisions, engineering standards, interfaces, software and many other details that contribute to program success.

Finishing as much work as possible early on is one of the keys to keeping a project on schedule.