Matrix Methods Analysis of International Space Station Logistics

The International Space Station (ISS) has served an important role in providing essential experience and know-how for space operations that will benefit future exploration missions. This paper analyzes the logistics of the ISS using matrix based methods. A manifest (M) matrix and flight dependency (D) matrix is created for crew provisions cargo delivered to the ISS over a period of ten years. It is found that the overall Logistics Strategy Index for crew provisions has so far been 0.85 (meaning 85% of the crew provisions cargo is pre-positioned on average for each mission) and that the prepositioning is for up to a maximum of four future missions at a time.