Since the Space Race of the 1960s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been the face of the U.S. space industry, responsible for driving aeronautics research, exploring our solar system through human and robotic missions, and inspiring the nation through scientific achievement. NASA and its core group of large aerospace contractors have worked to successfully carry out U.S. space exploration goals and have been responsible for some of the most significant engineering successes in history. Over the past decade or so, however, it has increasingly been the private space sector advancing new markets, capturing the public imagination, and working to reduce the timeline and cost of access to space. As the Obama administration’s new space policy begins to put increased emphasis on developing the U.S. commercial space sector, legacy NASA contractors are starting to see what may be the beginnings of a new competitive environment in the human spaceflight market. With the end of the Space Shuttle Program looming, and the restructuring of its successor the Constellation Program in progress, NASA continues to look for a way forward for its human spaceflight program. At the same time the agency’s contractors are dealing with a loss of significant work statement, a lack of new development programs, and an increase in the number of competitors entering the commercial space market. As Boeing Space Exploration attempts to traverse this turbulent period it must also look ahead to the competitive conditions which may result from these changes. It is critical that companies such as Boeing analyze the current structural trends in the industry and attempt to develop a robust strategy to position the company going forward. This paper aims to present analysis of the current market challenges faced by Boeing Space Exploration and the emerging competitive environment in the human spaceflight industry. General competitive strategies are discussed along with recommendations on which strategic pursuits might best allow the division to maintain its leadership in the industry and successfully compete in a new, more commercial space market. / text

The beginning of the space-age in the 1950s led to interest in the effects of radiation on semiconductors. The systematic investigation of defect centres in semiconductors began in earnest over 30 years ago. In addition to defect identification, information was also obtained on energy-level structures and defect migration properties. When designing electronic systems for operation in a radiation environment, ~tis imperative to know the effect of radiation on the properties of electronic components and materials comprising these systems. In some instances, the effects of irradiating electronic materials can be used to obtain desired material properties (mesa isolation, implantation, etc.). However, when electronic devices are exposed to radiation, defects may be introduced into the material. Depending on the application, these defects may have a detrimental effect on the performance of such a device. For this study, the semiconductor gallium arsenide (GaAs) was used and the defects were introduced by electrons, alpha-particles, protons, neutrons and argon sputtering. These particles were generated using radio-nuclides, a high-energy neutron source, a 2.5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator and a sputter gun. The influence of particle irradiation on the device properties of Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) fabricated on GaAs is presented. These device properties were monitored using a variable temperature current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) apparatus. In order to have an understanding of the change in electrical properties of these contacts after irradiation, it is necessary to characterize the radiation-induced defects. Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) was used to characterise the defects in terms of their DLTS "signature", defect concentration, field enhanced emission, and thermodynamic properties. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 1994. / gm2014 / Physics / unrestricted