NASA International Space Station

PSC’s extensive and multi-year involvement with the International Space Station began – appropriately – with the NASA Shuttle Program. We first won a crucial engagement with Lockheed Engineering & Technology (Houston, Texas) as a full Team Member on Lockheed’s Proposal to NASA for the Space Transportation Systems Operations Contract (STSOC) - Shuttle Operations from launch at the Kennedy Space Centre to its landing. PSC was to be responsible for the Program Control element of the proposed services for this US$ 600 million per annum, seven-year contract. We handled all Program Control subjects through Proposal, Demonstration and Best-and-Final Offer. While scoring highest on their Management Proposal, the Lockheed Team came second to Rockwell in the overall proposal evaluation and procurement selection process. However, we were subsequently contracted by Rockwell Shuttle Operations Company and implemented the Multi-Mission Product Planning System to manage the assembly and load of Shuttle Payloads, and pre-flight readiness for the Space Shuttle based on our MAX Project Management Application. We were awarded a separate contract by McDonnell Douglas Astronautics to design and implement their program management system for their NASA PGOC Program at the Kennedy Space Centre.

These two assignments raised our profile with NASA’s Space Station Program Office, based at that time in Houston. We performed a series of study assignments with NASA, helping to define the requirements for an improved Program Management process for the Space Station Program. This work lead directly to our winning contracts with Rockwell, McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed and Boeing to support program management on their elements of the Station and the related SSE (Software Support Environment) and TMIS (Technical & Management Information Systems) Projects. We also secure follow-on assignments directly with NASA Marshall (on SSP Program) and NASA Goddard (on FTS Program).

In parallel with our work with NASA, we were also engaged by the European Space Agency at ESTEC Noordwijk, NL on their Columbus Programme, which as that time was a $6B European element of the International Space Station. With ESA, we developed the Columbus Programme Management System (CPMS); and subsequently implemented it based on PSC’s MAX/ARTEMIS Project Management Application across all major Columbus participants. This included the Agency’s Columbus Programme Office, the Prime Contractor (MBB/Erno), and a further six subcontractor locations. We also provided a multi-year training and support service.

These assignments with NASA, ESA and almost all of their Level 1 Contractors on the International Space Station, together with our precursor engagements on NASA’s Space Shuttle, represented over $10M activity within a seven-year period.