| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 45
Review of the Space Communications Program of Nasas Space Operations Mission Directorate
6
Search and Rescue
INTRODUCTION
NASA participation in search and rescue efforts is clearly defined in a series of international and national understandings, agreements, and interagency plans. The United States is a signatory to the 1988 International COSPAS-SARSAT1 (C-S) Program Agreement.2 C-S is an operational satellite-based program, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the lead U.S. agency for C-S operations.3 NASA participation in search and rescue (SAR) efforts is governed by a series of memoranda of agreement (MOA). NASA is a member of the National Search and Rescue Committee (NSARC), a standing interagency committee that oversees the National Search and Rescue Plan (NSP).4 The NSARC assigns and coordinates SAR responsibilities, develops and implements SAR requirements and standards, outlines joint SAR tasking, fosters international cooperation, and promotes close cooperation between military and civil authorities for the provision of SAR services.5 The NSP provides guidance to federal agencies for development of SAR-related systems, including cooperation for the development, coordination, and improvement of SAR services, and states that NASA supports C-S objectives through research and development (R&D) or application of technology6 and is the primary R&D agency for the follow-on to the C-S program, called the Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS).7 The draft DASS implementation plan clearly defines the program goals and objectives in the context of the numerous international and U.S. interagency memoranda of agreement that govern search and rescue. However, this plan is not a binding document and does not yet represent the approved positions of the participating agencies.
The C-S system has user, space, and ground segments. The user segment is composed of radio beacons for aviation, maritime, and personal use that transmit signals during distress situations. The space segment consists of instruments aboard satellites that are used to detect the distress signals. C-S-equipped satellites are in low Earth orbit (LEO) and in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO)—the LEOSAR and GEOSAR systems, respectively. The ground segment consists of several components. Ground receiving stations or local users terminals (LUTs) receive and process the satellite downlink signal to generate distress alerts. Mission control centers (MCCs) receive alerts produced by LUTs and forward them to rescue coordination centers, search and rescue points of contacts, or other MCCs.8
Because of their high altitude and fixed position with respect to Earth, GEOSAR satellites cannot independently locate a beacon, and can provide location information only if the beacon contains a navigation receiver and transmits its position. However, the GEOSAR system can provide almost immediate alerting in the footprint of the GEOSAR satellite. The LEOSAR system provides coverage of the polar regions (which are beyond the coverage of geostationary satellites), can calculate the location of distress events using Doppler processing techniques, and is less susceptible to obstructions that may block a beacon signal in a given direction because the satellite is continuously moving with respect to the beacon. However, LEOSAR satellite orbit patterns result in non-continuous Earth coverage, and so delays are possible between beacon activation and the generation of an alert message.9
In September 1997, a Canadian study revealed that a constellation of mid-Earth-orbiting (MEO) satellites could be used to augment the existing C-S system by providing a vastly improved space-based distress alerting and locating capability.10 In 2000, the United States, the European Commission, and Russia began consultations with C-S regarding the feasibility of installing SAR instruments on their MEO navigation satellite systems—Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, and GLONASS. These MEOSAR constellations could eventually become components of an international C-S MEOSAR system.11 NASA, in coordination with
OCR for page 46
Review of the Space Communications Program of Nasas Space Operations Mission Directorate
the U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System Program Office and Sandia National Laboratories, determined that the GPS constellation would be the best and most cost-effective MEO constellation to host the SAR instruments. This project is called DASS.12
NASA has committed funds and personnel for the development of a proof-of-concept (POC) system for DASS. The DASS POC project is designed to confirm the feasibility of the MEOSAR concept, evaluate the operational impact to C-S of adding a MEOSAR component, determine what modifications will be required prior to the beginning of the demonstration and evaluation (D&E) phase, and establish the scope and content of the D&E phase.
NASA POC funding paid for integration of a DASS-modified payload on nine GPS Block II satellites.13 The Air Force intends to incorporate the DASS payload on all remaining Block IIR/IIF satellites.14 The POC space segment will receive 406-MHz beacon signals through an extant UHF antenna. Signals, without any onboard processing, will be relayed to the MEOLUT through an existing S-band antenna. The downlink frequency differs from the internationally recognized 1544-1545 MHz distress and safety communications frequency used by C-S, but its use in no way inhibits the ability of POC DASS to demonstrate SAR repeater capability.
NASA is funding the installation of a POC ground station at GSFC.15 The four-antenna POC and demonstration DASS ground station will be capable of tracking signals at both the S-band and the L-band to allow visibility both of POC DASS signals and of C-S L-band signals from operational LEOSAR and GEOSAR satellites. The ground station will be used to verify and characterize the DASS concept after sufficient POC payloads are on orbit to allow simultaneous four-satellite visibility. In the United States, distress alert data will not be distributed to operational SAR services during the proof-of-concept phase, but will be transmitted during the demonstration and evaluation phase so that an assessment of DASS’s operational capabilities can be performed.16
If resources allow, an assessment of system performance when using data combined from MEOSAR, LEOSAR, and GEOSAR systems will also be accomplished.17 The program achieved a significant cost savings by making slight modifications to existing DOE payloads and using them as SAR instruments.18 There are six of these modified GPS IIR satellites in orbit.19
The operational DASS will function as a secondary mission aboard GPS III satellites and, when fully deployed, will consist of 24 to 27 MEO payloads with no less than four DASS payloads visible from anywhere on Earth at any time. The DASS system will be completely compatible with C-S distress beacons. It will receive, decode, and locate distress beacons throughout the world and will support near-instan-taneous distress alerting.20 The operational DASS satellite payload will continue to function as a transparent repeater for 406-MHz beacon signals, but the system will up-convert all incoming signals to the band at 1544.8-1545.0 MHz for rebroadcast.21
The DASS ground segment will be composed of MEOLUTs and the existing C-S MCC network. The MEOLUT will receive and process satellite downlinks, calculate beacon locations, and forward this information to the MCC. The MCC network will perform the same basic functions for MEOSAR alerts as it currently provides for LEOSAR and GEOSAR alerts.22
NASA chairs the DASS Management Working Group (DMWG), which consists of NASA, NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the USAF, the DOE, and other agencies as appropriate. The DMWG provides interagency planning and direction during the development, POC, and D&E of DASS.23
The Goddard Space Flight Center SAR Mission Office is the NASA lead for SAR R&D. This office performs C-S R&D and provides technical support to NOAA and other federal agencies in their operation and use of C-S.24 It is also responsible for developing the DASS system performance requirements for the design, procurement, and operation of the DASS prototype ground segment; for defining and conducting the POC phase testing; and for supporting DOE on DASS POC implementation using the existing DOE payload on the GPS space segment. NASA will fund the POC ground segment until POC completion.25
NASA maintains a multi-function laboratory called the SARLab at GSFC for C-S support and to perform DASS POC R&D. The SARLab consolidates all R&D functions of the SAR Mission Office into one unit, including a search planning station and two combined ground stations: the System Evaluation and Development Laboratory (SEDL) and the new DASS POC ground station.26 NASA uses the SEDL to support C-S operations. The SEDL also addresses emergency beacon failures as a result of damage and false alarms and develops new classes of beacons. One is a self-locating beacon with a built in GPS receiver. Another is a portable prototype personal locator beacon.27
NASA also performs R&D on beaconless SAR, including using synthetic aperture side-looking radars on search aircraft28 and also using laser systems on search aircraft to transmit and receive signals that enable discrimination between background objects and reflections from inexpensive reflective tape on the person or vehicle in distress.29
GSFC is expecting to release a POC test plan in April 2006 to define the criteria for completing the POC, including testing requirements and requirements for internal and external review. The DASS POC will be complete when the goals in the POC test plan have been achieved.
ASSESSMENT
Progress Toward Achieving Program Plan
The DASS implementation plan is the overarching in-
OCR for page 47
Review of the Space Communications Program of Nasas Space Operations Mission Directorate
teragency program plan for DASS.30 Developed by the DMWG, which is chaired by NASA, the implementation plan clearly sets forth each agency’s roles, responsibilities, milestones, requirements, metrics for requirements satisfaction, funding, international participation, how international MEOSAR programs work with DASS and C-S, and the vision for the future of SAR implementation. At meetings of the DMWG, each participating agency provides a report of its DASS implementation status and a schedule of its planned activities. Other meetings and technical reviews concerning DASS design and performance capabilities will be scheduled as needed.31 The DMWG assigns action items to each stakeholder and these are documented in the implementation plan, which is updated after each DMWG meeting. A review of these action items reveals that there are no critical near-term issues and that participating agencies are working on issues well in advance of the date for program implementation.32 In addition, the document contains multiyear funding profiles for each agency.
Finding: The committee’s review of the action items from the DASS Management Working Group (DMWG) meetings indicates that the DMWG believes that the program has proceeded as planned and that NASA has allocated the appropriate personnel, facilities, and funds and is progressing toward completing the DASS proof of concept without any major issue.
Successful completion of the POC phase will initiate the transition to the D&E phase. D&E builds on work completed during the POC. NOAA will assume program management responsibility for DASS implementation at the conclusion of the POC phase and will guide the system transition through D&E to an operational status.33 The current plan is for NASA to provide funding as necessary for the prototype ground station to support the D&E test activities and for analytical support of the technical test results. Plans also call for NASA to continue its evaluation of the prototype ground station to refine the requirements and specifications for operational MEOLUTs.34 The Air Force will continue to launch GPS IIR and IIF satellites with DASS payloads.35
D&E will evaluate the operational effectiveness of DASS and provide the basis for a recommendation on its operational use in order to ensure that national and international organizations accept DASS as an alerting source. During this phase all minimum DASS performance parameters required for compatibility with C-S will be evaluated, with the possible exception of global coverage. Sufficient space and ground segment capability will be required to adequately characterize the system and to confirm its benefits.36 Proof of success is measured against the set of international and national documents that are the source of program requirements. These documents define the C-S interfaces and implementation plan, the SARSAT operational requirements, required DASS capabilities, the interfaces to GPS III, other GPS III design requirements, and performance requirements for the LUTs.37
The DASS IP indicates that the international MEOSAR programs, particularly Galileo, are proceeding years ahead of the DASS schedule. This provides the potential for the United States to be able to use SAR/Galileo transmissions to conduct POC and D&E activities on a system-wide basis before GPS Block III satellites are launched.38 If Galileo proceeds as initially planned, a major DASS cost avoidance could result. However, NOAA representatives were skeptical that this benefit would materialize, given early indications that Galileo funding decisions could greatly reduce the number of SAR payloads included in the constellation. They also expressed concern that the United States would have no control over the testing of SAR/Galileo, which could very well be outsourced to a nation less well versed than the major nations contributing to the core navigation program.39 The committee observed, too, that the United States may not want to rely solely on a non-U.S. system for SAR functionality.
Finding: The DASS implementation plan allows NASA to take maximum advantage of work that is being done by partner agencies (e.g., Air Force satellites, DOE payload) and international C-S partners (e.g., Russian and European MEOSAR constellations). In addition, the DASS program architecture retains much of the existing C-S ground segment, all the international interfaces to the C-S system, and the POC ground segment developed by NASA.
Methodology
The DASS implementation plan is a detailed interagency program plan that describes the implementation of agency responsibilities as outlined in the document Memorandum of Agreement between NASA, NOAA, USAF, USCG, and DOE Regarding the Development and Demonstration of the Global Positioning System-Based Distress Alerting Satellite System, dated February 2003. The agreement sets forth the roles and responsibilities of the participating agencies during the development and demonstration phases of the DASS program implementation.40 The DMWG provides interagency planning and direction during the development, proof-of-concept, and demonstration and evaluation of DASS. It is chaired by NASA through the POC phase and NOAA during D&E. Participants meet quarterly, as necessary, to coordinate requirements, long-range planning, and acquisition strategies.41
Finding: The U.S. agency participants in the DASS program meet regularly under the umbrella of the DASS Management Working Group and clearly agree on roles and responsibilities for the DASS proof-of-concept development. The DMWG is chaired by NASA, the lead development agency.
OCR for page 48
Review of the Space Communications Program of Nasas Space Operations Mission Directorate
A successful DASS POC is a key step leading to eventual incorporation of DASS into the international C-S architecture. The DASS program places particular emphasis on correct processing of rescue signals. That function is performed in the ground segment. SAR is an operational life-saving system, and so the agencies have embarked on a well-defined risk reduction program for DASS POC ground segment activities.42 Two support contractors in the United States are capable of performing POC ground segment development activities. NASA selected one of these as its support contractor. NOAA selected the other to verify and validate the work of the NASA development contractor, providing risk mitigation for a critical system element.43
Upon successful completion of D&E, the DASS program will transition to an operational system funded and managed by the agencies responsible for search and rescue operations and C-S administration, functions for which NOAA is the lead U.S. agency today. At that time a new MOA that governs the management of the operational DASS will be required.44
Overall Capabilities
The committee’s interviews were very positive with the lead U.S. SAR agency, NOAA, at the Suitland facility regarding the quality of NASA’s participation in search and rescue R&D.45 NOAA’s representatives stated that NASA is meeting requirements, has been a good shepherd of search and rescue R&D efforts since program inception, and has identified no budget issues.
The committee observed that GSFC personnel, equipment, and facilities are appropriate to the DASS POC task and that support contractors are used efficiently to fill gaps in NASA capabilities without duplication.
An interview with the GPS Joint Program Office revealed that the Air Force is not participating in the DASS ground system development. The Air Force role in the POC DASS is as the space segment host for the DASS payload. That work is essentially complete, and all block IIR/IIF satellites will be equipped with the R&D DASS configuration to support NASA’s DASS POC testing. The Air Force plans to procure GPS III in blocks, and based on the current state of requirements validation within the Air Force, DASS might not be included on the first block of GPS III satellites unless there is strong advocacy by the civil agencies participating in the program.46
In preparing its FY 2008 budget, NASA headquarters is now assuming that the DASS POC phase will be complete in FY 2007 and will no longer be funded in FY 2008.47 Conversations with NASA headquarters, and confirmation by email, indicate that the DASS POC has accomplished the vast majority of its objectives but has already exceeded its original $20 million agreed-to budget by $3.5 million, with an estimated cost to complete of $11.5 million. NASA headquarters is prepared to make DASS a budget and programmatic issue in the upcoming budget cycle and expects to review alternatives, including rephasing the program to match the GPS III schedule, reducing NASA funding to slow the pace, or obtaining additional funding from other agencies.48,49
Finding: NASA has exceeded its agreed-to budget for DASS. Considerably more funds are needed to complete the proof-of-concept phase, and this additional budget may not be supported by NASA headquarters. If the FY 2008 budget cycle results in changes in NASA program funding, it is uncertain whether the DASS proof of concept can be completed in a form that reflects the plans and agency agreements the committee reviewed in this study. The impacts on the plans of participating agencies are also not known.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
NASA has performed well as the lead agency for search and rescue R&D and will continue in that role until the completion of the DASS POC. NASA has successfully planned and managed the multiagency SAR development programs and has integrated the POC DASS system with the existing COSPAS-SARSAT, an international program that has performed a daily critical mission since it was declared operational in 1985. The programs have achieved cost and schedule leverage by piggybacking on existing systems and avoiding unnecessary development and risk. Even the completion of the future parts of the SAR program will continue to depend on this leveraging of systems funded by other U.S. agencies and international partners
Unfortunately, the DASS program has significantly overrun its allocated funding. Although the program has been well supported by NASA and contractor personnel, a restructuring of the DASS POC is likely during the upcoming budget cycle.
Recommendation: As chair of the DASS Management Working Group, NASA should assemble the interagency participants in the DASS proof of concept, review the program’s progress toward meeting technical, operational, and programmatic requirements, review interagency and international commitments, and negotiate a plan for the future of DASS.
NOTES
1. COSPAS (Cosmicheskaya Sistyema Poiska Avariynich Sudov), Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress; SARSAT, Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking.
2. International COSPAS-SARSAT Programme Agreement [ICSPA] between the United States, Canada, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Republic of France, Paris, France, July 1, 1988.
3. Memorandum of Understanding among the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Coast Guard,
OCR for page 49
Review of the Space Communications Program of Nasas Space Operations Mission Directorate
United States Air Force, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Regarding U.S. Responsibilities for the COSPAS-SARSAT System, Issue 1, Revision 1, January 1998, p. 2.
4. NASA, United States National Search and Rescue Supplement to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual, National Search and Rescue Committee, including Appendix A, the National Search and Rescue Plan—1999 [NSP], Washington, D.C., May 2000, p. 2-1.
5. NASA, United States National Search and Rescue Committee [NSARC] Agreement among the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Interior, Federal Communications Commission, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, March 3, 1999, paragraph 4.
6. NASA, United States National Search and Rescue Supplement to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual, National Search and Rescue Committee, including Appendix A, the National Search and Rescue Plan—1999 [NSP], Washington, D.C., May 2000, pp. A-2–A-3.
7. Memorandum of Agreement between the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Air Force including the Space and Air Combat Commands, the United States Coast Guard, and the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Regarding the Development and Demonstration of the Global Positioning System-Based Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), February 2, 2003, p. 3.
8. COSPAS-SARSAT, International Satellite System for Search and Rescue, available at http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/Description/concept.htm.
9. COSPAS-SARSAT, International Satellite System for Search and Rescue, available at http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/Description/concept.htm.
10. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office, Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/dass/index.htm.
11. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, pp. 1-2–1-3.
12. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office, Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/dass/index.htm.
13. Kelly, John D., NASA SOMD, personal communication, April 19, 2006.
14. Reaser, Colonel Richard, GPS Deputy Joint Program Director, personal communication, April 19, 2006.
15. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office, Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/dass/index.htm.
16. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 2-5.
17. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, pp. 7-3–7-4.
18. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office, Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/dass/index.htm.
19. Memorandum of Agreement between the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Air Force including the Space and Air Combat Commands, the United States Coast Guard, and the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Regarding the Development and Demonstration of the Global Positioning System-Based Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), February 2, 2003, pp. 3-4.
20. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 2-1.
21. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 2-4.
22. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 2-4.
23. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 4-4.
24. Memorandum of Understanding among the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Coast Guard, United States Air Force, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Regarding U.S. Responsibilities for the COSPAS-SARSAT System, Issue 1, Revision 1, January 1998.
25. Memorandum of Agreement between the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Air Force including the Space and Air Combat Commands, the United States Coast Guard, and the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Regarding the Development and Demonstration of the Global Positioning System-Based Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS), February 2, 2003, pp. 6-7.
26. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office, Search and Rescue Laboratory (SARLab), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/sedl/sarlab.htm.
27. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office, Emergency Beacon Development Web Page, available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/techdevelopment/beacons.htm.
28. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office Search and Rescue Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR2), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/techdevelopment/sar2.htm.
29. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Search and Rescue Mission Office Laser Search and Rescue (L-SAR), available at http://searchandrescue.gsfc.nasa.gov/techdevelopment/l_sar.htm.
30. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006.
31. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 4-5.
32. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006.
33. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 4-3.
34. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 7-9.
OCR for page 50
Review of the Space Communications Program of Nasas Space Operations Mission Directorate
35. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006 p. 2-4.
36. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 7-6.
37. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, pp. 3-4–3-5.
38. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 7-13
39. Button, Tom, and A.J. Mehta, meeting with NOAA, March 30, 2006.
40. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 1-1.
41. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 4-5.
42. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, pp. 6-2–6-5.
43. Button, Tom, and Ajay Mehta, SARSAT Program Manager, meeting with NOAA, March 30, 2006.
44. DASS Management Working Group, Distress Alerting Satellite System Implementation Plan [DASS IP], Issue 1, January 12, 2006, p. 4-5.
45. Button, Tom, and Ajay Mehta, meeting with NOAA, Suitland, Md., March 30, 2006.
46. Reaser, Coloniel Richard, GPS Deputy Joint Program Director, personal communication, April 19, 2006.
47. Kelly, John D., NASA SOMD, personal communication, April 13, 2006.
48. Kelly, John D., NASA SOMD, personal communication, April 11, 2006.
49. According to the International COSPAS-SARSAT Programme Agreement (ICSPA), p. 5, Article 6, Financial Matters, “Each party, in conformity with its domestic funding procedures, and subject to the availability of appropriated funds, shall be fully responsible for financing all costs associated with its contribution to the Space Segment as determined pursuant to Article 5, and the common costs arising from the obligations of this Agreement.”
Representative terms from entire chapter:
standards management
Items in cart [0]
