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Annalisa L. Weigel. Szajnfarber, Zoe Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology and Policy Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Technology and Policy Program 2010-08-30T14:44:27Z 2010-08-30T14:44:27Z 2009 2009 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/57700 650994481 Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and, (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-61). The overall goal of this research is to develop a better understanding of how innovation can, and should, happen in the space sector. Part A: Towards an Empirical Measure of Spacecraft Innovation, frames the discussion of innovation in the space sector and creates a platform for future analysis. To accomplish this, it addresses three aspects of the task of measurement. First, it surveys several distinct literatures to establish precedence for defining a spacecraft innovation metric. Second, the conceptual trade-offs associated with adopting this principle in the context of communication satellites are elucidated and treated. By defining product boundaries along the dimensions of product scope and market transactions, three paradigms for measurement are proposed; namely, 1) the communication satellite enterprise; 2) the physical satellite; and 3) communication service. Third, under the constraints of historical data collection realities, next-best estimators are put forward as surrogates for the parameters required in implementing the proposed metrics. Based on these surrogates, the relative merits of each measurement paradigm are illustrated through sample analyses. (cont.) Part B: Lessons from Communication Satellite History (1964-2006), captures the first detailed attempt to quantitatively analyze innovation in the space sector. Building on the communication satellite innovation metric (developed in Part A) and a spacecraft innovation framework (developed as part of ongoing work) Part B presents a preliminary model of communication satellite innovation. In addition to innovation being a function of the rate of performance normalized by price, spacecraft innovation is shown to be strongly influenced by characteristics of the customer-contractor contractual relationship. Specifically, DoD contracts tend to result in a lower level of innovation on average as compared to other customers and particular customer-contractor pairs perform differently and exhibit a second order relationship in time. No pair was observed to sustain better than average innovation in the long run. by Zoe Szajnfarber. S.M. in Technology and Policy S.M. 64 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Aeronautics and Astronautics. Engineering Systems Division. Technology and Policy Program. What drives spacecraft innovation? : a quantitative analysis of communication satellite history Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="829b819b-e1b5-43ca-a0d8-db69ad04a27c"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>What drives spacecraft innovation? : a quantitative analysis of communication satellite history</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2009</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Szajnfarber, Zoe</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Aeronautics and Astronautics.</Keyword> <Keyword>Engineering Systems Division.</Keyword> <Keyword>Technology and Policy Program.</Keyword> <Abstract>The overall goal of this research is to develop a better understanding of how innovation can, and should, happen in the space sector. Part A: Towards an Empirical Measure of Spacecraft Innovation, frames the discussion of innovation in the space sector and creates a platform for future analysis. To accomplish this, it addresses three aspects of the task of measurement. First, it surveys several distinct literatures to establish precedence for defining a spacecraft innovation metric. Second, the conceptual trade-offs associated with adopting this principle in the context of communication satellites are elucidated and treated. By defining product boundaries along the dimensions of product scope and market transactions, three paradigms for measurement are proposed; namely, 1) the communication satellite enterprise; 2) the physical satellite; and 3) communication service. Third, under the constraints of historical data collection realities, next-best estimators are put forward as surrogates for the parameters required in implementing the proposed metrics. Based on these surrogates, the relative merits of each measurement paradigm are illustrated through sample analyses.</Abstract> <Abstract>(cont.) Part B: Lessons from Communication Satellite History (1964-2006), captures the first detailed attempt to quantitatively analyze innovation in the space sector. Building on the communication satellite innovation metric (developed in Part A) and a spacecraft innovation framework (developed as part of ongoing work) Part B presents a preliminary model of communication satellite innovation. In addition to innovation being a function of the rate of performance normalized by price, spacecraft innovation is shown to be strongly influenced by characteristics of the customer-contractor contractual relationship. Specifically, DoD contracts tend to result in a lower level of innovation on average as compared to other customers and particular customer-contractor pairs perform differently and exhibit a second order relationship in time. No pair was observed to sustain better than average innovation in the long run.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>