Dan Rasky: SpaceX's Rapid Prototyping Design Process

Dr. Dan Rasky worked as a Senior Scientist for NASA on COTS. Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems (COTS) was a NASA-industry partnership to develop safe, affordable, reliable space transportation access to Low-Earth Orbit. NASA was the lead investor in the COTS project, much different from traditional government-owned and operated systems. The COTS lessons are applicable to similar capability development projects and may not be suitable for traditional government contracts. Click the following link to view the entire COTS Critical Knowledge home page: http://www.nasa.gov/content/cots-critical-knowledge-0 To learn more about the Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield, click on the following link: http://www.spacex.com/news/2013/04/04/pica-heat-shield