Contributions to decision-making from ethics and systems analysis: a TA of manned space flight

Decisions in manned space flight require a special kind of technology assessment (TA) assistance because they are strongly related to normative systems. The purpose of standard TA, however, is to deliver descriptive information to decision-makers. Therefore a new method is required to handle normative-oriented problems. The method developed in this paper is based on elements of both philosophical ethics and systems analysis. Applying it to manned space flight makes it possible tojudge the variousjustification arguments and to suggest an orientation for future space policy.