Over a two-year period beginning in 2015, a panel of subject matter experts, the Space Platform Requirements Working Group (SPRWG), carried out an analysis and prioritization of different space-based observations supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s operational services in the areas of weather, oceans, and space weather. NOAA leadership used the SPRWG analysis of space-based observational priorities in different mission areas, among other inputs, to inform the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT)-based value model and the NOAA Satellite Observing Systems Architecture (NSOSA) study. The goal of the NSOSA study is to develop candidate satellite architectures for the era beginning in approximately 2030. The SPRWG analysis included a prioritized list of observational objectives together with the quantitative attributes of each objective at three levels of performance: a threshold level of minimal utility, an intermediate level that the community expects by 2030, and a maximum effective level, a level for which further improvements would not be cost effective. This process is believed to be unprecedented in the analysis of long-range plans for providing observations from space. This paper describes the process for developing the prioritized objectives and their attributes and how they were combined in the Environmental Data Record (EDR) Value Model (EVM). The EVM helped inform NOAA’s assessment of many potential architectures for its future observing system within the NSOSA study. However, neither the SPRWG nor its report represents official NOAA policy positions or decisions, and the responsibility for selecting and implementing the final architecture rests solely with NOAA senior leadership.
In most space missions, on-board propulsion systems comprise a significant portion of the total spacecraft mass and are, in fact, often the largest mass spacecraft subsystem. The development of innovative, high performance on-board propulsion systems can provide significant leverage to improve mission performance. Recent trends toward the use of smaller spacecraft and launch vehicles will likely increase the need for new on-board propulsion systems. Electric propulsion systems can be used to reduce spacecraft launch mass, extend mission life, and or enable new missions/functions. The use of electric propulsion is expanding in all space sectors with systems being used, or readied for use, for orbital insertion, deorbit, stationkeeping, precision positioning and repositioning, attitude control, and primary and secondary propulsion for planetary exploration. NASA clearly recognizes the need for new, high performance electric propulsion technologies for the near-, mid-and far-terms and sponsors aggressive efforts in this area. These efforts are mainly conducted under the Office of Space Science crosscutting On-Board Propulsion (OBP) program as implemented through the Lewis Research Center and coordinated with Marshall Space Flight Center's Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP). The ASTP also provides resources for the development of high performance, high power systems for very ambitious missions including human exploration. NASA's electric propulsion efforts are closely coordinated with Department of Defense and other national programs to assure the most effective use of available resources. As in the past, NASA continues to work closely with the supplier and user communities to maximize the potential for the acceptance of new technology in a timely and cost-effective manner. This paper provides an overview of NASA's activities in the area of electric propulsion with an emphasis on program directions and recent progress.
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