Development of the flight test telemetry system for Clipper Graham: a new way to do business

Since the early days of NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), there has been a rigid protocol regarding business processes. Procurement of flight hardware was done a certain way, monitoring contracts was done a certain way, and test support was done a certain way. There was little flexibility to support those small, quick turn-around experimental programs where cost and schedule were paramount to rapid prototyping success. When the Delta Clipper Experimental (DC-X) space flight test vehicle was being upgraded to the Delta Clipper Experimental Advanced (DC-XA, later called the Clipper Graham), the opportunity to enhance the way MSFC did business presented itself. The development of the flight test telemetry system (FTTS) for the Clipper Graham presented the perfect opportunity for the MSFC business community to embrace the “better, faster, cheaper approach”