35 research outputs found

    Study to evaluate the effect of EVA on payload systems. Volume 1: Executive summary

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    Programmatic benefits to payloads are examined which can result from the routine use of extravehicular activity (EVA) during space missions. Design and operations costs were compared for 13 representative baseline payloads to the costs of those payloads adapted for EVA operations. The EVA-oriented concepts developed in the study were derived from these baseline concepts and maintained mission and program objectives as well as basic configurations. This permitted isolation of cost saving factors associated specifically with incorporation of EVA in a variety of payload designs and operations. The study results were extrapolated to a total of 74 payload programs. Using appropriate complexity and learning factors, net EVA savings were extrapolated to over 551MforNASAandU.S.civilpayloadsforroutineoperations.AddingDODandESROpayloadsincreasesthenetestimatedsavingsof551M for NASA and U.S. civil payloads for routine operations. Adding DOD and ESRO payloads increases the net estimated savings of 776M. Planned maintenance by EVA indicated an estimated 168Msavingsduetoeliminationofautomatedserviceequipment.Contingencyproblemsofpayloadswerealsoanalyzedtoestablishexpectedfailureratesforshuttlepayloads.ThefailureinformationresultedinanestimatedpotentialforEVAsavingsof168M savings due to elimination of automated service equipment. Contingency problems of payloads were also analyzed to establish expected failure rates for shuttle payloads. The failure information resulted in an estimated potential for EVA savings of 1.9 B

    Monitoring international migration flows in Europe. Towards a statistical data base combining data from different sources

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    The paper reviews techniques developed in demography, geography and statistics that are useful for bridging the gap between available data on international migration flows and the information required for policy making and research. The basic idea of the paper is as follows: to establish a coherent and consistent data base that contains sufficiently detailed, up-to-date and accurate information, data from several sources should be combined. That raises issues of definition and measurement, and of how to combine data from different origins properly. The issues may be tackled more easily if the statistics that are being compiled are viewed as different outcomes or manifestations of underlying stochastic processes governing migration. The link between the processes and their outcomes is described by models, the parameters of which must be estimated from the available data. That may be done within the context of socio-demographic accounting. The paper discusses the experience of the U.S. Bureau of the Census in combining migration data from several sources. It also summarizes the many efforts in Europe to establish a coherent and consistent data base on international migration. The paper was written at IIASA. It is part of the Migration Estimation Study, which is a collaborative IIASA-University of Groningen project, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The project aims at developing techniques to obtain improved estimates of international migration flows by country of origin and country of destination
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