A Cost-Benefit Analysis on the Deletion of the Inertial Upper Stage Factory Acceptance Testing Versus a Decrease in Mission Reliability

Date of Award

9-1991

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Thomas S. Kelso, PhD

Abstract

This study investigated the benefits attributable to deleting the factory acceptance testing for the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) space booster and the possible impacts on mission reliability. A review of the literature revealed limited research on the advantages or disadvantages of performing acceptance testing on commercial programs. However, a review of DoD policy recognized the advantages of cost and time savings when developmental and operational tests are combined. An analysis was performed on the anomalies that occurred during the acceptance testing for the vehicles involved in this study to determine whether all hardware defects would be detected by a later phase of testing. The research suggested that only two chance failures would be undetected by flight testing resulting in a decrease in reliability of .03% and a savings of $646,500 per IUS vehicle if acceptance testing was eliminated. The study concluded that current reliability could be maintained by additional flight testing but further research was necessary before a modification to the program could be implemented.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GSM-ENS-91S-13

DTIC Accession Number

ADA246620

Comments

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