Knowledge Management Challenges for Successful Space Exploration

Paper number

IAC-07-D5.1.06

Author

Dr. Edward Rogers, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard space Flight Center, United States

Coauthor

Ms. Ratna Sengupta, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States

Year

2007

Abstract

There are three challenging roles for knowledge management in order to sustain progress in scientific space exploration over the next 20 years. This paper addresses how the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is integrating its response to these three challenges in a meaningful knowledge management architecture and organizational learning plan.
First, we must have reliable organizational systems that utilize all relevant and available knowledge to build space systems. We cannot afford to pay for relearning lessons learned on previous missions. We must be efficient in our collection of and access to prior knowledge that can be used to assure mission success on all future missions. This means our organizations must be learning organizations that value reapplication of valid knowledge as much as we value the discovery of new knowledge. This is the knowledge availability challenge.
Second, we must assure liberty of inquiry and thought within a competitive yet open marketplace for ideas through publishing, sharing and peer evaluation. There will always be a competitive aspect to scientific inquiry but a well functioning marketplace for ideas is the most effective way to encourage human creativity. Just like democracy, it is not always the most efficient method being less than perfect in process but a market for ideas maintains the foundation of liberty of human thought so essential to sustain intellectual inquiry. This means knowledge management must be a liberating exercise and not a planned or controlling exercise. This is the knowledge sharing challenge.
Third, we must coordinate international programs oriented toward discovery to optimize global exploration resources. We have to make choices and prioritize in coordination which problems will we apply our knowledge to first. This means we must build more cooperative programs where scientists, engineers and project personnel work with their counterparts in other countries to develop skills at sharing, cooperating and coordinating efforts. Knowledge knows no boundaries. Our skills and processes need to catch up with the realities of the global knowledge marketplace. The challenge is to balance coordination of knowledge resources with maintaining liberty of inquiry and expression. This is the knowledge allocation challenge.
To address these challenge, NASA Goddard has adopted a plan to build a learning organization culture that improves reliability across all projects and invests in human capital strategies that will assure sustainability in the future. The approach connects organizational system health with systems engineering, project management practices and safety in an integrated learning environment. 

Abstract document

IAC-07-D5.1.06.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-07-D5.1.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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