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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Orange County Photovoltaic Project & Educational COmponent

The purpose of this report is to discuss the projects implemented, utilizing Department of Energy grant funds, to support the use and understanding of renewable energy in Orange County, Florida and the Greater Orlando Area. Orange County is located in the State of Florida and is most popularly referred to as Orlando. The greater Orlando area’s current population is 1,225,267 and in 2015 was the first destination to surpass 60 million visitors. Orange County utilized grant funds to add to the growing demand for access to charging stations by installing one level 2 dual NovaCharge CT4021 electric vehicle charging station at the Orange County/University of Florida Cooperative Extension Center. The charging station is considered a “smart” charger connected to a central network operated by a third party. Data collected includes the number of charging sessions, session start and end times, the electricity usage, greenhouse gases saved and other pertinent data used for reporting purposes. Orange County continues to support the use of electric vehicles in Metro Orlando and this project continues to bring awareness to our public regarding using alternative vehicles. Additionally, we offer all visitors to the Orange County/University of Florida Cooperative Extension Center free charges for their electric vehicles 24 hours a day. Since the operation of the charging station there have been 52 unique driver users, a total of 532.2258 kg of greenhouse gas savings and 159.03 gallons of gasoline savings. The installation of the additional electric vehicle charging station is part of a county-wide goal of promoting implementation of renewable energy technologies as well as supporting the use of electric vehicles including the Drive Electric Orlando & Florida programs. http://driveelectricorlando.com/ & ; http://www.driveelectricflorida.org/ . Grant funds were also used for Outreach and Educational efforts. Educational efforts about renewable energy were accomplished through the continued support as well as a proposed expansion and potential relocation of the Climate Change Education Center. The growth of the Climate Change Education Center focused on 2 educational subsectors. The first educational sector focused on an apprenticeship with university students. The second sector Orange County partnered with a hospitality college that held seminars to educate students in sustainability best practices that would influence the industry as a whole as students take jobs around the U.S. and other parts of the world. Orange County completed five of the originally proposed six educational seminars. The first seminar focused on community based social marketing techniques for driving sustainable behavior changes. The second seminar held was a green team workshop. The third seminar focused on urban sustainability planning. The fourth and fifth seminars held were Florida Energy Code workshops for building inspectors. A sixth transit oriented development seminar in partnership with Rollins College was explored, but was not conducted because the proposed on campus venue was not accessible for an extended period of time due to renovations. Additionally, an ENERGY STAR training program was conducted with students from the University of Central Florida; three of the five buildings assessed received ENERGY STAR ratings; one student completed the training and received their certification as an ENERGY STAR Specialist. Background: Location: Orange County is located in the central region of the State of Florida and is most popularly known for including the City of Orlando. The greater Orlando area’s current population is 1,225,267 and is home to large corporations such as Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, Ritz Carlton, Darden Restaurants, and the nation’s second largest convention center. Opportunities Identified: Encouraging Sustainability in Major Sectors: The Central Florida economy is largely dependent on the hospitality industry and in 2015 it was the first destination to surpass 60 million visitors. With over 60 million visitors each year, 120,000 hotel rooms, 4,000 restaurants, and 75 theme parks and attractions, the local hospitality industry provided a wealth of opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through building energy efficiency and renewable energy. Accordingly, Central Florida is an ideal training ground for teaching best practices for sustainability focused on the hospitality industry. Meeting the Growing Demand for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: According to the 2014 U.S Clean Tech Leadership Index Report, nationwide electric vehicle ownership in the top 50 largest metro areas increased sharply in 2013; the Orlando Metro Area was ranked #5 in the nation in in terms of electric vehicle charging stations per one million people. Additionally, the Orange County 2014-2015 Annual Sustainable Orange County Report indicated there are 300 electric vehicle charging stations in Central Florida (roughly 300 charging stations within ~70 mile radius available to our residents of Orange County). By increasing and improving access to charging stations, Orange County supports the growing demand for renewable energy technologies. Project Achievements/Accomplishments: Installed an Electric Charging Station: Orange County utilized grant funds to install one level 2 dual NovaCharge CT4021 electric vehicle charging station at the Orange County/University of Florida Cooperative Extension Center. The charging station is considered a “smart” charger connected to a central network operated by a third party that monitors the number of charging sessions, session start and end times, the electricity usage, greenhouse gases saved and other pertinent data. During the six months of operation of the charging station there have been 52 unique driver users of the charging station; a total of 532.2258 kg of greenhouse gas savings and 159.03 gallons of gasoline savings. Operation and Potential Relocation of the Orange County Climate Change Education Center: The Climate Change Education Center, originally located within the Orange County Convention Center, served as a central place to inform and educate commercial and residential sectors of environmental, health, and economic benefits of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Grant funds were used to pay for the rent required to maintain a lease at the Convention Center, conduct five educational workshops, and for planned upgrades to the Center displays highlighting a number of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects implemented at the Orange County Convention Center and Downtown Orange County. An initial design concept for an upgraded Climate Change Education Center and educational displays was proposed. However, after the Convention Center determined the space occupied by the Climate Change Education Center; a feasibility study for relocation to the proposed area was conducted in October 2013. In December 2013, it was determined that the desired location of the for the Climate Change Education Center at the Orange County Extension Education Center provided too many construction challenges for relocation with too many building retrofits and access problems, including lack of access for loading and unloading exhibits as well as roof drainage relocations and sewer service connection issues. Another suitable location for relocating the Climate Change Education Center could not be located so the project was terminated. The Climate Change Education Center is no longer in existence in Orange County and has been eliminated. Grant funds were used to pay for marketing services for a state wide marketing program including solar & other renewable energy technologies for rebranding and developing marketing materials including web site design and updating. A website was maintained and updated the www.PowerUpGreenEnergy.com website (no longer in service). Sustainability Training for the Hospitality Industry and Major Sectors: To introduce energy efficiency and renewable energy concepts to the hospitality industry, Orange County partnered with a hospitality college that held seminars to educate students in sustainability best practices that would influence the industry as a whole as students take jobs around the U.S. and other parts of the world. Orange County completed five of the originally proposed six education seminars. Seminar topics included: driving sustainable behavior change through community based social marketing; green team programs; urban sustainability planning; and Florida Energy Code workshops for building inspectors. In partnership with Rollins College, a sixth seminar focused on transit-oriented development was explored, but was not conducted due to extended renovations at the proposed on-campus venue. Green Job Training Development: To promote green industry development and on-the-job training in occupations that encourage energy efficiency and resource reduction, Orange County piloted an ENERGY STAR training and apprenticeship program with students from the University of Central Florida; three students applied for the program; one student completed the training and received their certification as an ENERGY STAR specialist; three of the five buildings assessed received ENERGY STAR Ratings.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Understanding How Organizations Handle Cybersecurity

If there is anything we can learn from the media, it is the frequency and severity of cyber-attacks is increasing and there are not enough qualified people to combat the risk organizations are facing. Current estimates say there are 3.5 million available cybersecurity related jobs globally and there has been a 350% growth in cybersecurity jobs since 2013 (Group, 2020). The Idaho Cyber Research Project (ICRP) is focused on finding an implementing solution to the problems in the workforce development pipeline. Our team consists of Cohort 2 of the ICRP, we are tasked with solving issues faced by organizations hiring new cyber personnel. To provide solutions to these issues we focused our research on four components of workforce availability and competency: resume and transcript analysis, apprenticeships, cyber incident response plan development, and adversarial mindset training. From this research we have produced the following focus areas and subsequent steps for each component of workforce capability: transcript and knowledge skills abilities (KSA) focused analysis, cybersecurity apprenticeships programs, the value of an adversarial mindset, and a guide to setting up cyber incident response plans for underprepared organizations. These solutions can be further developed and implemented to reduce the gap in workforce demand and talent.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1995

Building an adaptive agent to monitor and repair the electrical power system of an orbital satellite

Over several years we have developed a multistrategy apprenticeship learning methodology for building knowledge-based systems. Recently we have developed and applied our methodology to building intelligent agents. This methodology allows a subject matter expert to build an agent in the same way in which the expert would teach a human apprentice. The expert will give the agent specific examples of problems and solutions, explanations of these solutions, or supervise the agent as it solves new problems. During such interactions, the agent learns general rules and concepts, continuously extending and improving its knowledge base. In this paper we present initial results on applying this methodology to build an intelligent adaptive agent for monitoring and repair of the electrical power system of an orbital satellite, stressing the interaction with the expert during apprenticeship learning.

Tecuci, Gheorghe↗
DOE OSTI2023

Opportunities for green hydrogen production with land-based wind in the United States

Hydrogen (H 2 ) is an efficient energy carrier and storage mechanism that can supply both stationary and transport energy demand. Rapidly declining renewable energy generation costs; technology innovations in wind, solar, battery storage, and electrolysis; and a global push for more sustainable and secure energy have driven increased interest in green H 2 production. In this study, we develop an H 2 scenario analysis tool to assist in rapid, high-resolution insights into future, green H 2 pathways to achieve policy goals and market competitiveness. Using this tool, we estimate H 2 production and costs for U.S., off-grid scenarios given varying policy and cost scenarios from 2025–2035. Results indicate that achieving economically competitive green H 2 production (below $\$$2/kg) is possible in 2030 with no policy incentives (one site achieves this target), while increasing policy support to include wind and green H 2 production tax credits enables widespread economic viability sooner, with sub-$\$$2/kg LCOH targets achieved by 2025 and 51.7% of sites achieving this target by 2035. Maximizing policy support through prevailing wage and apprenticeship credit multipliers enable widespread economic viability, including sub-$\$$2/kg of green H 2 by 2025 and even negative pricing by 2035. Regions with lowest LCOH values correspond to high wind resource areas and capacity factors. Achieving decarbonization goals with green H 2 depends on technology cost reductions and policy support, with a maximum average LCOH reduction of $\$$23.10 between no and maximum policy support scenarios, and a maximum average LCOH reduction of $\$$25.86 between current, conservative technology costs and 2035 projected technology cost assumptions.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2025

BLDAP Intro to Python/Data Science Curriculum v1

The Github repository contains the Jupyter notebooks for the intro to Python / Data Science course for Berkeley Lab Director's Apprenticeship Program (BLDAP). This course is designed for students with little to no experience in coding to learn skills in Python necessary for data science. Students utilize Jupyter notebooks throughout the course. The overall goal is for students to learn how to use Python to clean, analyze, and visualize large data sets in order to communicate effectively their conclusions about the data set. Students apply the skills they learned on actual data sets provided by researchers in Berkeley Lab.

Hales, Laurel [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborato↗
DOE OSTI2018

User-Oriented Modeling Tools for Advanced Hybrid and Climate-Appropriate Rooftop Air Conditioners

Hybrid unitary air conditioning systems offer a pathway to substantially reduce energy use and peak electrical demand for cooling, heating, and ventilation in commercial buildings. Hybrid air conditioners incorporate multiple subsystems that are carefully orchestrated to provide climate- and application-specific efficiency advantages. There are a multitude of hybrid system architectures, but common subsystems include: heat recovery ventilation, indirect evaporative cooling, desiccant dehumidification, variable speed fans, modulating dampers, and multi-stage or variable-speed vapor compression cooling. Categorically, hybrid systems can operate in numerous discrete modes. For example: indirect evaporative cooling may operate for periods when the subsystem provides adequate sensible cooling, then vapor compression cooling will be included when more cooling or dehumidification is necessary. Laboratory assessments, field studies, and simulations have demonstrated that hybrid unitary air conditioners could reduce energy use for cooling and ventilation by 30-90% depending on climate and application. Heretofore, it has been challenging - if not impossible - for practitioners to model hybrid air conditioners as part of building energy simulations; and the limitation has severely obstructed broader adoption of technologies in this class. In this project, we developed a new feature for EnergyPlus that enables modeling hybrid unitary air conditioning equipment for building energy simulations. This is a significant advancement for both theory and practice, and confers public benefit by enabling practitioners to evaluate this compelling efficiency technology as a part of building energy simulations. The feature is a black-box model that requires extensive performance data for each hybrid unitary product. In parallel, we also developed new features for the Technology Performance Exchange to enable manufacturers to submit performance data in a standard format that can be used with the hybrid unitary model in EnergyPlus. Additionally, through this project we expanded university educational resources, and university- manufacturing industry collaborations in the field of energy efficiency technology. Over two years, we involved 20 undergraduate students in ambitious research projects focused on modeling complex multi-mode mechanical systems, supported three mechanical engineering bachelor theses, established undergraduate apprenticeships with multiple industry partners, and involved those partners in the process of design, validation, and debugging for the new EnergyPlus feature. The EnergyPlus feature is described and discussed in an academic article, as well as in an engineering reference, and input/output reference documentation for EnergyPlus. The Technology Performance Exchange features are live and publicly accessible, our manufacturer partners are primed to submit initial product information and performance data to the exchange, and the EnergyPlus feature is scheduled for public release in Spring 2018 as a part of EnergyPlus v8.9.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Connective Actions for Educational Institutions and Wind Industry Firms [Slides]

As a part of the National Wind Workforce Assessment, four presentations have been created in conjunction with the technical report to provide more insight into key findings. The four presentations are catered towards specific stakeholder groups that include: educators, wind industry firms, students, and current wind industry employees. This presentation is intended for use by wind industry firms and educational institutions looking to gain insight into key levers and actionable steps that can be taken to help narrow the wind workforce gap. Data and guidance on how wind industry firms and education institutions can collaborate to 1) grow the number of graduates applying into wind occupational roles through increasing awareness of opportunities in the industry and 2) increase the quality of applicants applying into wind through relevant experience gaining opportunities like internships and apprenticeships is included in the presentation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Solar Jobs Accelerator (Final Technical Report (FTR))

The aptitudes and experiences gained through military service—such as dynamic leadership, teamwork and critical thinking skills, technical specialization, and a mission-completion work ethic—make veterans exceptional candidates for a wide range of solar energy careers. The solar industry offers a highly collaborative and purpose-driven work environment that resonates with service members and veterans looking to rise to their next challenge, and solar employers are eager to tap into this valuable talent pool. From October 2019 - February 2023, The National Solar Jobs Accelerator (publicly the Solar Ready Vets Network TM (SRV Network; SRVN)) enhanced and streamlined options for military service members and veterans to pursue solar training, certification, and employment, while advancing solar employers’ efforts and capacity to invest in military talent as part of a long-term workforce development strategy. The SRVN was led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) in partnership with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program (HOH) and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). Through several direct-impact and indirect, high-impact capacity building initiatives aligned with six key objectives, the SRV Network strengthened solar career pathways, and promoted increased representation of military talent across all levels and sectors of the solar workforce. A work-based learning Corporate Fellowship model connected transitioning service members with on-the-job experience in leadership roles with solar employers nationwide. The project advanced broader veteran recruitment and talent development by expanding GI Bill eligibility and streamlining veterans’ pathways for solar training and credentialing, supported direct connections to jobs with top solar employers, and led coordination among key education and industry partners to advance registered apprenticeships aligned with solar career pathways. To ensure that the project best served the needs of all stakeholders, an Advisory Committee of military-connected solar professionals, solar employers, and training providers met biannually to guide project activities and sustainability plans. The project team engaged the broader “SRV Network” (comprised of over 2,000 veterans, employers and training organizations) through regular newsletters and targeted outreach to share resources, hiring fairs, webinars, and other opportunities for engagement. The work done under this award builds on the previous iterations of the Department of Energy’s Solar Ready Vets ® program. As the solar industry continues to grow rapidly over the next decade, the military community will continue to be a highly valuable source of talent. The relationships established and work accomplished through this project will have an enduring positive impact well beyond the funding period.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Establishment of an Intertribal Technical Energy Providers Network (Final Technical Report)

The Midwest Tribal Energy Resources Association (MTERA) embarked on a 5-year (extended to 7-year) initiative aimed at advancing Tribal energy resilience and sustainability through intertribal collaboration. By bringing together Tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan (EPA Region 5 Tribes), the project's scope encompassed organizational growth, governance and management formalization and enhancement, and the planning and deployment of energy-related services to Member Tribes. MTERA strategically pursued four key objectives to fulfill its mission: 1. Clearinghouse Development: Creation of a centralized hub offering valuable information, education, and outreach for Tribal communities and their neighbors. 2. Policy Liaison: Serving as a vital link between federal and state agencies to contribute to the formulation of inclusive energy policies that ensure both Tribal and regional energy success. 3. Energy Planning and Research: Providing essential support for energy planning, researching financing opportunities, and exploring effective procurement strategies. 4. Training Support: Facilitating training and apprenticeship initiatives to empower the Tribal workforce and enhance community capabilities.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Best Practices for Equitable Solar Workforce Development

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) was selected to serve as a lead organization for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technology Office’s Equitable Solar Communities of Practice initiative. This project, facilitated through a partnership with ENERGYWERX, aimed to develop strategies to support the expansion of equitable benefits in solar adoption across the U.S. Specifically, the MREA was chosen to lead the solar workforce development community of practice, focusing on scaling the U.S. solar workforce, to meet growing industry demands and ensure that these opportunities are accessible and beneficial to all communities. For the purpose of this initiative, we define the solar workforce in line with the National Solar Jobs Census, which defines a solar worker as someone who spends a majority of their time on solar-related work. This also includes workers who spend a plurality of their time on solar tasks. It’s important to note that manufacturing jobs were not included in this research, as the focus is primarily on solar installation, development, and related roles. To achieve the goals of the Equitable Solar Communities of Practice initiative, the MREA leveraged existing resources and engaged a diverse core team and group of stakeholders including industry professionals, educators, policymakers, and community leaders. The MREA began with a literature review and gap analysis to identify existing best practices and gaps in the solar workforce. This was followed by a community convening to gather insights from a wide range of stakeholders. The findings informed the best practices and pathways to scale the benefits of solar workforce development, focusing on training programs, workforce services, apprenticeship, and justice, inclusion, and sustainability. This report outlines the background, methodology, findings, and conclusions drawn from the landscape and gap analysis, providing valuable insights into workforce needs and training program capacities across the U.S. The outcomes of this research are presented in this report and contain recommendations for optimizing workforce development and training funding to support the equitable growth of the solar industry, ensuring that the transition to solar energy is inclusive and beneficial for all communities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Solar Training and Education Partnership for Underserved Populations

Solar Landscape’s STEP-UP program provided high quality solar installation training in partnership with community-based organizations (CBOs) in various regions within the U.S. Solar Landscape leveraged internal subject matter experts (SME’s) industry guidance and regional training assessments to provide customized training designed to support the growing solar and broader energy sector. Upon completion of the program, the team assisted trainees and nonprofit partners with connections to Solar Landscape contractors as well as local and National residential solar installation companies to facilitate placement into careers and apprenticeships.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1989

An intelligent tutor for a high performance domain

The use of intelligent tutoring systems based on the apprenticeship approach to training is explored as a possible solution to the problem of training individuals to operate and maintain complex devices, such as those used in the aerospace industry. A general approach to the development of such a system is presented, and a specific intelligent tutoring system designed for training mission control console operators is described as an example.

Fink, Pamela K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

NASA and the United States educational system - Outreach programs in aeronautics, space science, and technology

The role of NASA in developing a well-educated American work force is addressed. NASA educational programs aimed at precollege students are examined, including the NASA Spacemobile, Urban Community Enrichment Program, and Summer High School Apprenticeship Program. NASA workshops and programs aimed at helping teachers develop classroom curriculum materials are described. Programs aimed at college and graduate-level students are considered along with coordination efforts with other federal agencies and with corporations.

Owens, Frank C.↗
NASA NTRS1989

SHARP

This video tape describes the benefits of NASA's Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program to participating students.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

Recursive heuristic classification

The author will describe a new problem-solving approach called recursive heuristic classification, whereby a subproblem of heuristic classification is itself formulated and solved by heuristic classification. This allows the construction of more knowledge-intensive classification programs in a way that yields a clean organization. Further, standard knowledge acquisition and learning techniques for heuristic classification can be used to create, refine, and maintain the knowledge base associated with the recursively called classification expert system. The method of recursive heuristic classification was used in the Minerva blackboard shell for heuristic classification. Minerva recursively calls itself every problem-solving cycle to solve the important blackboard scheduler task, which involves assigning a desirability rating to alternative problem-solving actions. Knowing these ratings is critical to the use of an expert system as a component of a critiquing or apprenticeship tutoring system. One innovation of this research is a method called dynamic heuristic classification, which allows selection among dynamically generated classification categories instead of requiring them to be prenumerated.

Wilkins, David C.↗
NASA NTRS2004

[The Engineering and Technical Services Directorate at the Glenn Research Center]

My name is James Moon and I am a senior at Tennessee State University where my major is Aeronautical and Industrial Technology with a concentration in industrial electronics. I am currently serving my internship in the Engineering and Technical Services Directorate at the Glenn Research Center (GRC). The Engineering and Technical Service Directorate provides the services and infrastructure for the Glenn Research Center to take research concepts to reality. They provide a full range of integrated services including engineering, advanced prototyping and testing, facility management, and information technology for NASA, industry, and academia. Engineering and Technical Services contains the core knowledge in Information Technology (IT). This includes data systems and analysis, inter and intranet based systems design and data security. Including the design and development of embedded real-time s o h a r e applications for flight and supporting ground systems, Engineering and Technical Services provide a wide range of IT services and products specific to the Glenn Research Center research and engineering community. In the 7000 Directorate I work directly in the 7611 organization. This organization is known as the Aviation Environments Technical Branch. My mentor is Vincent Satterwhite who is also the Branch Chief of the Aviation Environments Technical Branch. In this branch, I serve as the Assistant program manager of the Engineering Technology Program. The Engineering Technology Program (ETP) is one of three components of the High School L.E.R.C.I.P. This is an Agency-sponsored, eight-week research-based apprenticeship program designed to attract traditionally underrepresented high school students that demonstrate an aptitude for and interest in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.

Moon, James↗
NASA NTRS2018

Toward Justifiable Trust in Autonomous Systems Incorporating Human Knowledge in Autonomous Systems through Machine Learning

Trust in Autonomous Systems is largely about humans trusting the decisions made by autonomous systems. This trust can be increased through learning from domain experts. In particular, autonomous systems can learn offline from past mission operations before conducting any operations of its own. Additionally, autonomous systems can learn online by obtaining human feedback during operations. We will discuss several classes of machine learning methods and our application of them to autonomous systems. The first class of methods is anomaly detection, which uses operations data to identify examples of anomalous operations. The second class of methods is inverse reinforcement learning, also known as apprenticeship learning, that takes past operations data as input and yields a controller that is able to duplicate the operations described by the data. The third class is active learning, which identifies examples on which the model is most uncertain and requests domain expert feedback.

Oza, Nikunj C.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Ideas on the NASA Senior Review and Mission Extension Process

Extended mission budgets fund a significant part of our community, particularly young scientists who in a relatively short time are exposed to a broad range of experiences and opportunities available in space science and other STEM fields. In particular, mission-funded science offers a relatively stable funding stream that enables meaningful mentoring efforts and interactions, including apprenticeships ranging from project management, to mission operations, to data processing and analysis, to hardware and software development, to STEM-related education and outreach. It moreover provides professional contacts that fuel diversity in mission leadership and in the science and technical workforce at-large. Last but not least, it sustains the scientific productivity of NASA’s missions, which constitute major national investments meriting their full exploitation. Budgets cuts, however, are exercising pressure on the science and operations of the extended mission fleet despite being only a small portion of the overall Division budget. The history of Heliophysics has demonstrated that maintaining the operation of missions beyond their prime phase invariably leads to a much deeper knowledge of the original mission science goals, together with new applications often not foreseen during their original design. Their operation as part of the Heliophysics System Observatory (HSO)---a coordinated, 1eliophysics, multipoint observing system of the heliosphere, is a prime example. Some of the first activities undertaken by the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions required recreating the larger context of their new observations by using the diversity of HSO mission capabilities. The marginal cost of maintaining this valuable, working science resource, in the form of both continuing high quality data access and expertise, is small compared to the cost of the original missions or of new missions to achieve similar objectives, making the operation of extended missions, the best “science per dollar” investment in Heliophysics. We argue that reducing both extended mission operations and science budgets will have a ripple effect across the community, including reducing employment and training opportunities for young scientists, to lowering the quality/impact of the Heliophysics Systems Observatory. Instead, we suggest that the proposal process for mission extension should be re-examined. We offer several ideas for reducing costs of extended missions toward maintaining science output and streamlining the management process.

A. Vourlidas↗