INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) LESSONS LEARNED AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON PREPARATIONS FOR HUMAN EXPLORATION BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT

摘要

As the end of the International Space Station (ISS) assembly phase approached, the ISS MultilateralControl Board took the opportunity to reflect on lessons learned by the partnership during the design,development and initial stages of operation of the ISS. This work culminated in July 2009 with the releaseof a document titled International Space Station Lessons Learned as Applied to Exploration. Thedocument contains a rich collection of technical and programmatic lessons learned spread across 7 majorcategories. The categories Mission Objectives, Architecture, Partnership Structure and Coordination,External Communications, Operations, Utilization and Commercial Involvement provide many usefulinsights for agencies planning partnerships to undertake exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. Ithighlights the importance of developing a long-term shared vision through the early identification ofcommon goals and objectives, common messaging on the importance of the partnership to stakeholders,and the importance of finding roles for each partner that are consistent with capabilities and long terminterests. It also identifies many strategies for ensuring an exploration program is robust in a changingpolitical and technical risk environment. The ISS Program thrives today as an example for humanexploration programs because of the strategies employed over time to build a partnership which is resilientin a changing environment.With these documented lessons learned in hand, and the experiences of people who have spent many yearsworking on ISS program, the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) has ensuredthat these valuable lessons are reflected in the work to build a coordinated international strategy for futurehuman exploration of places like the moon, asteroids and Mars.The ISECG was established in response to "The Global Exploration Strategy: The Framework forCoordination" developed by fourteen space agencies1. The ISECG enables interested agencies to developthe products considered important to inform their individual decision making, enabling decisions to bemade in a coordinated manner. In developing the ISECG Reference Architecture for Human LunarExploration and the Global Exploration Roadmap2 participating agencies have reflected on the appropriatelessons from ISS to enable a more robust future exploration scenario. This paper will review the ISSLessons Learned and share insights into how they have specifically influenced the early planning forhuman exploration beyond low earth orbit. It will also provide additional thoughts on the importance ofbuilding on the ISS and its legacy for enabling the challenging international exploration missions of thefuture.