Responsive Access Small Cargo Affordable Launch (RASCAL ...

Operations:
The operation model for the RASCAL design was analyzed using a manpower
analysis derived from historical X-15 data [12]. The RASCAL program will be a
reduced manpower program that resembles a small X-plane architecture rather than a
massive Space Shuttle architecture. A tool was developed in Excel to model the
manpower necessary for the RASCAL program based upon the number of flights per
year and the premise that one first stage could fly no more than 50 flights per year (TAT
greater than 1 week). It was assumed that it would take 12 ground operators working on
each RASCAL first stage with 26 flight operations officers (X-15 heritage) and one pilot
for each first stage. There would also be one manager for each first stage aircraft with a
minimum of 3 managers. The number of people was then multiplied by the average manyear
number given for 2004 in Transcost ($220,500 USD (FY’04)) [13]. The necessary
supplies were taken to be ten percent of the labor costs for both the ground and flight ops.
The cost of operating the aircraft was calculated using a USAF average of
operations cost per hour of flight [14]. This is then multiplied by a conservative 2.5
hours per flight (averaging 230 mph over the flight). This then computes the aircraft
operating costs. New facilities were assumed to be the vehicle assembly building which
was set at the cost of a typical hanger with equipment ($50 M USD (FY’04)). A screen
shot of the operations model is included as Figure 22.
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