Integration risks for the international space station and Orbital Space Plane

NASA has proposed the development of an Orbital Space Plane (OSP), that will provide transport and rescue of International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers. The OSP requirement is to provide crew rescue by 2008 and OSP crew transport capability by 2012 (with a goal of 2010). Proper research and modeling of the ISS system and all of its visiting vehicles is necessary to ensure a successful integration of the OSP to the ISS. Introduction of a new hardware element, the OSP, will require thorough identification of all physical, electronic, operational and procedural interfaces. The OSP design and operations will be examined to determine the impact on the ISS and its ongoing operations. In addition to the risks associated with human space flight, vehicle safety and many other factors, integration of a new vehicle to the existing ISS system introduces new risks. This risk category deals with the introduction of a new system into a pre-existing one and all of the factors that go into making the introduction Successful. Risk management is an integral part of any program to ensure success and becomes vital with design of a new operating system. Risk management is a practice that begins with the conceptual design of any system and continues to be a consideration well after the system has been designed and implemented. This paper will describe the process of risk identification in regard to safety as well as risk identification to support the mission objectives with the goal of successfully integrating the OSP system with the ISS.