All subsystems are not created equal: Alternative scheduling approaches for spacecraft subsystem development

The NASA civilian space environment has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. The current environment has led to a “cost paradox” patterned by low initial cost estimates and a recent history of cost and schedule overruns. While we may not readily be able to change the current NASA environment, evaluation and selection of alternative approaches to scheduling in the application of the NASA project execution methodology can improve spacecraft delivery schedule performance and contribute to significant cost savings.