Reply #45

--as quickly as possible. They were trying to achieve at least two flights per month...24 flights per year. The Reagan White House pushed them to rush through finishing their R&D phase. As a graduate student at the University of Houston, I was contracted by NASA (before the Challenger Accident) to study and derive a method that NASA could use to achieve "Operational Status" with the STS ("Space Transportation System) Program. My colleague and I came up with a strategic management solution that called for a concurrent management structure involving two teams:

1. Transition Management Team (to go from R&D to Operational Status with STS)
2. Business-as-Usual Management Team

We presented our findings to NASA Houston, and then waited to see if they would implement them. Our management (style) suggestions appeared not to go anywhere, and a few months later, Challenger perished shortly after launch. NASA never got to that two flights per month goal, nor did it ever achieve operational/airline-like status for the STS. The General Public grew bored of human spaceflight, even with the advent of the ISS (International Space Station). A pleasant (so far) surprising bump in that rug though has been the congressionally-approved commercial space transportation movement (SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, etc.). Hopefully, the "greyhairs" from STS will mentor the newbies involved in that movement to the extent that we won't see another Challenger-type tragedy. A new space transportation age could then dawn, and further increase Civilization's probability of surviving in spite of itself.