6.6.2 Factors Contributing to Space System Failures and Successes

Processes and procedures, concepts, requirements, and design specifications, and design and productions standards are necessary but not always sufficient for building a robust space system. These entities are only documentation and not knowledge. The preponderance of these entities are success-centric and are created from within the system. That is, they generally do not provide enough emphasis on addressing what can go wrong and they are limited by the knowledge of the people developing the system. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part examines specific occurrences of space mission degradation, failure and recovery. These examples will illustrate the notion that anything can go wrong in a space mission, but a robust design and ingenious work-arounds can often save the mission. The second part provides examples of recovery from failures. The third part provides an overview of six methodologies that are critical to building a robust system. These methodologies should be standard practices in any program, but can be overlooked or under-worked when a program first encounters the prospect of missed milestones and insufficient funding.