CHANTILLY, Va. (Nov. 13, 2014) – Innovation and managing risk across the supply chain led the discussion among top space leaders as they focused on achieving mission success in a resource-constrained environment during the seventh annual U.S. Space Mission Assurance Summit held at The Aerospace Corporation on Nov. 12–13.
The theme “Managing Risk Across the Supply Chain” recognized that over 50 percent of space system components are delivered by the supply chain. “By focusing on the supply chain, we have a great opportunity to improve our space acquisition processes by introducing innovative concepts and technologies to achieve cost-effective mission success,” said Dr. Wanda Austin, president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation and host of the annual event bringing government and industry partners together to focus on delivering 100 percent mission success.
Panelists included senior executives from Ball Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Orbital Sciences, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and The Aerospace Corporation. Executive government leaders from NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office, Missile Defense Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center also participated.
The day prior to the summit, a Joint Space Quality Improvement Council and Space Supplier Council meeting addressed best practices for supply chain management, supply chain security, supply chain resilience, rocket engine lessons, and current industrial base policy.
Dr. Troy Meink, Assistant Director of National Intelligence, System and Resource Analysis, highlighted the need to reduce acquisition timelines and the cost of space systems, which are critical to our economic and national security.
The Mission Assurance Summit provides a forum for U.S. space program leadership to collaborate, learn, and enhance mission assurance of all critical space programs that provide essential services security to the country. The U.S. space program leadership has agreed, in principle, that the strategic intent of the Mission Assurance Summit is to create an environment that will deliver 100-percent mission success — and to a mission assurance framework that helps achieve that goal.
The Aerospace Corporation is a California nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research and development center and has almost 3,500 employees. It provides technical guidance and advice on all aspects of space missions to military, civil, and commercial customers to assure space mission success. The Aerospace Corporation is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., with multiple locations across the United States.
