TABLE OF CONTENTS Most of the ACTS technology, described in Chapter 2, Satellite Technology, had never before been put in space. Its development was a major technical challenge, filled with frustration, stress, and risk-taking, but offering major opportunities and rewards. It required a large government/private industry team integrating a variety of disciplines including science, engineering, planning, finance, and human resources to accomplish an important goal that made a real difference. In short, ACTS was being where the action is in the development and application of exciting new technologies and processes.
The keys to a successful program are no secret but bear reiteration here to point out the complexities of the job, and serve as a basis for understanding the benefits and the mistakes. Some of the main components of a successful program, according to A.Thomas Young (former president of Lockheed Martin and center director of Goddard Space Flight Center [121]), are:
finding good, experienced people
instilling attention to detail
building adequate reserves
avoiding political consideration
putting quality first
Good, experienced people Getting the right people on the team is what separates successful projects from those that fail. A good engineer is one who has designed something, had it built, and seen it fail. There have to be enough experienced personnel (managers, engineers, technicians, planners, etc.) on the team who will make certain that the same type of mistakes made on previous projects won t be repeated. For those who don t have the experience, the proper training must be...
