Constrained Space Exploration Technology Program: A Review of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program

摘要

In January 2004, President George W. Bush announced new elements of the nation's space policy by issuing the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), which instructed NASA to 'extend human presence across the solar system, starting with a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human exploration of Mars and other destinations.' NASA was also directed to develop the innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about the destinations for human exploration, among other objectives. As acknowledged in the VSE, significant technology development will be necessary to accomplish the goals that it articulates. In the past 4 years, NASA has mobilized and focused its resources on the critical new tasks assigned, including the maturing of the technologies necessary for exploration. NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) is designed to support, develop, and ultimately provide the necessary technologies for the agency's new Constellation flight program. The Committee to Review NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program is broadly supportive of the intent and goals of the VSE and finds that the ETDP is making progress toward the stated goals of technology development, but that it is operating within significant constraints that limit its ability to successfully accomplish those goals. The constraints include the still-dynamic nature of the Constellation Program requirements, the constraints imposed by a limited budget, the aggressive timescale of early technology deliverables, and the desire within NASA to fully employ the NASA workforce.