USA Supplier Relations representative Gary Henderson opened the presentation with a brief history of USA’s position as NASA’s chief contractor responsible for the Space Shuttle program, and then turned his attention to the future of space exploration.
“We are going back to the moon and to Mars,” said Henderson, “It’s not fantasy anymore.” NASA will retire the Space Shuttle program in 2010, switching to a rocket-propelled vehicle called Ares for the upcoming Constellation missions to the International Space Station, the moon, and eventually to Mars, Henderson said.
Henderson expressed his esteem for Dekker, Ltd.’s recent efforts in supplying USA with project management training and software applications that enable sound earned value management and NASA 533 reporting, which NASA requires its contractors to provide. “We have noticed that things are going right, and we appreciate it,” Henderson said.
USA President, CEO and STS-34 (Atlantis) Shuttle Astronaut Mike McCulley then presented Dekker, Ltd. President and CEO Simon Dekker with the award, which consisted of a framed and embossed certificate, signed by McCulley, thanking Dekker, Ltd. for its dedicated service.
“What you are doing and how you are doing it is really key to us right now,” said McCulley, emphasizing the success that USA has enjoyed with the Dekker PMIS™ (Project Management Information System) software suite, education and consulting services. “You have been an excellent vendor; truly teammates,” McCulley said.
“Dekker, Ltd. software has been used by various NASA contractors since 1986, and I am proud to know that we will be on the last Shuttle mission and beyond to the moon and Mars with the Constellation program,” said Dekker.
McCulley and Henderson stressed the importance of Dekker’s role in providing sound project management and process control in performing space exploration missions safely and efficiently.
“The astronauts’ lives are in our hands,” said Henderson.
McCulley, a former Shuttle Astronaut, elaborated on the difficulties and the wonders involved in space travel. He described how a piece of foam traveling at 500 miles per hour could create a breach in the tough armor of the Shuttle exterior, an unforeseen phenomenon that caused the Columbia disaster in 2003. He then explained that the problem had since been solved, and that manned space flight has always been and will continue to be dangerous, but that scientists and engineers will continue to learn from the cumulative mistakes and successes of the past in order to better plan for future missions.
McCulley closed the presentation by fielding questions from the audience, one of which was, “Which do you find scarier: takeoff or landing?” McCulley simply said that the two were different. “In space travel you have three parts,” he said, “the getting there, the being there, and the coming back.” Each one has its own character, explained McCulley, and each has its own wonders and thrills.
Then McCully paused for a moment, recounting a memory that seemed to supersede his train of thought. “I remember one time in orbit,” he said, “I managed to get my eyes so close to the window that all I could see was space coming at me. Now, I’ve driven fast cars, flown fast jets and the like, and in all my experience with speed, it’s always been very rough and very loud. But looking out of that window, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour [or five miles per second], there was no noise. And the movement was smooth. I’ll never forget that – speed without sound.” He added, “I am truly the luckiest man alive.”
United Space Alliance has been a Dekker, Ltd. customer since the Fall of 2006, implementing the full Dekker PMIS™ suite of software tools, education and consulting support for a robust project, program and EVM component to the Constellation program.
ABOUT UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, United Space Alliance, LLC (USA) is one of the world’s leading space operations companies. Established in 1996 as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), USA is equally owned by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) and employs people in Texas, Florida, Alabama and the Washington, D.C. area.
USA manages and conducts space operations work involving the operation and maintenance of multi-purpose space systems, including systems associated with NASA's human space flight program, Space Shuttle applications beyond those of NASA and other reusable launch and orbital systems beyond the Space Shuttle and Space Station. For more information on USA, visit www.unitedspacealliance.com.
ABOUT DEKKER, LTD.
Founded in 1984, Dekker, Ltd., is an Ontario, California-based project management education, consulting, and software company. Dekker has been a leading provider of enterprise project management (EPM), project portfolio management (PPM), and earned value management (EVM) solutions. Dekker provides commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software to commercial enterprises, government contractors, and government and civilian agencies to help build and maintain the discipline of an integrated project management process. The Dekker suite of project management tools provides maximum profitability and return on investment, while also enabling organizations to easily meet the requirements of regulatory standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley, ANSI/EIA Standard 748-98A, and the OMB Circular A-11, 2003, Exhibit 300 reporting requirements.
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