Conclusion: The JPL System

From its early beginnings as a student research project, JPL relied on its own expertise. Its engineers developed new technologies prior to and during World War II and contracted their successful solid-rocket innovations to in­dustry. Corporal and Sergeant continued this pattern, with JPL performing the initial analysis, design, and development and contracting to industry for manufacturing. In the NASA era, JPL continued to develop new technologies, contracting for small items that it did not want to manufacture, or as with Surveyor, when it did not have enough personnel to take on more work.

Recognition of the ‘‘systems concept’’ marked JPL’s transition from re­search to engineering development. JPL engineers found that they could not develop entire weapons and their operations using research structures and processes. Engineers had to develop all aspects of the missile, not just those that were “technically sweet.’’ By the mid-1950s, the difficult experience of Corporal led to the systems approach on Sergeant, with formal methods to ensure reliability and operational simplicity. In the late 1950s, JPL reverted to informal processes to create small spacecraft in a great hurry, leading to a spotty reliability record. By the mid-1960s, after disaster on Ranger, JPL engi­neers and managers had learned once again not to rush into building systems before laying the groundwork.

Reliability was another concept JPL learned from Corporal and Sergeant. Corporal had an abysmal operational record, partly because of the failure of electronic components when shaken by rocket engine vibrations, and partly because of a design never intended for operational use. These two lessons formed JPL’s primary belief regarding reliability: good design, solid manufac­turing practices, and rigorous testing made a reliable product. This approach served JPL well — but not well enough for deep space. New kinds of failures plagued JPL’s early spacecraft, including short circuits caused by floating par­ticles, and software errors. JPL solved these problems through performing component inspection, using simpler designs, coating exposed wires with in­sulating materials, and instituting ‘‘systems tests’’ to flush out interactions be­tween subsystems and in command sequencing.

Change control became one of JPL’s primary means to control projects. Jack James, project manager for Mariner Venus 62 and MM64, developed pro­gressive design freeze on Sergeant to ensure delivery of design information from JPL to Sperry. James and his supervisor, Robert Parks, used the concept again on the Mariner Venus 62 project, then formalized its use on MM64. The Ranger project began to use James’s new process after the Ranger 5 investiga­tion.

Systems engineering, which began as coordination between technical divi­sions and between JPL and its contractors, became a hallmark of JPL. By 1963, JPL engineers taught space systems engineering at Stanford, where Sys­tems Division Deputy Chief John Small described systems engineering as the “coordination of several engineering disciplines in a single complex effort.’’ According to Small, systems engineers looked at the interfaces and resolved ‘‘problems so as to benefit the overall system.’’ They also coordinated the over­all test program, defined command sequences to operate the spacecraft, and analyzed ‘‘the various interactions’’ between subsystems to determine where subsystem redundancy would most improve chances for mission success.91 Other engineers described systems analyses and tradeoffs performed to de­termine the best mix of components and operations for a given mission.92

JPL engineers repeatedly found that many technical problems could be solved only by using organizational means. Problems with missile reliability demanded engineering design changes, parts inspections, and test proce­dures. Systems engineers solved interface problems by maintaining interface drawings, mediating subsystem disputes, and chairing change control meet­ings to track and judge design modifications. By 1965, JPL’s managers and engineers had learned these lessons well and had become the technical leaders they always believed they were.

JPL developed organizational processes equivalent to those created for the air force’s ballistic missile programs. Strong project management, systems engineering, and change control formed the heart of JPL’s system, just as they had in Schriever’s organization. Both organizations developed them as re­sponses to reliability problems and to political pressures from higher authori­ties. For JPL and the air force, engineering processes for reliability and change control as well as managerial processes for project and configuration manage­ment formed the basis for large-scale development. Although JPL influenced robotic spacecraft development and organization at NASA, it had relatively little influence on NASA’s manned programs. The manned programs could have learned from JPL’s experiences of the 1950s and early 1960s. Instead, they underwent their own crises. Rather than asking for help from their sister field center, they instead turned to the air force.

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