Acquisition Effort Distribution (Person-Months)

This is a simple advanced missions cost model (AMCM) for quick turnaround, rough-order-of-magnitude estimating. The model can be used for estimating the development and production cost of spacecraft, space transportation systems, aircraft, missiles, ships, and land vehicles. Initial model provided courtesy of NASA with extensions by NPS.

Definitions

Quantity

The quantity is the total number of units to be produced. This includes prototypes, test articles, operational units, and spares.

Dry weight

The dry weight is the total empty weight of the system in pounds, not including fuel, payload, crew, or passengers.

Mission type

The mission type classifies the type of system by the operating environment and the type of mission to be performed. Select one that best describes the system you wish to estimate.

IOC Year

The IOC is the year of Initial Operating Capability. For space systems, this is the year in which the spacecraft or vehicle is first launched.

Block Number

The block number represents the level of design inheritance in the system. If the system is a new design, then the block number is 1. If the estimate represents a modification to an existing design, then a block number of 2 or more may be used. For example, block 5 means that this is the 5th in a series of major modifications to an existing system.

Difficulty

The difficulty factor represents the level of programmatic and technical difficulty anticipated for the new system. This difficulty should be assessed relative to other similar systems that have been developed in the past. For example, if the new system is significantly more complex than previous similar systems, then a difficulty of high or very high should be selected.