ARES is a leader in program management and integration of NASA human spaceflight programs, supporting this critical role since 2004. ARES was the original program integrator for the International Space Station (ISS) Program, supporting the development, integration, and transition to operations. We continued in this role in support of the Constellation Program and technical offices under the NASA level 2 organization. Currently, we support the program office for the Orion Program at JSC, manage support for the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program at KSC, the Space Launch System (SLS) team at the MSFC, and support the overarching NASA Exploration Program Integration Team. In these roles we provide program planning and control (PP&C), risk management, systems engineering and integration (SE&I), project management, communication, and outreach for the NASA program management team.

ARES provides Program Planning and Control (PP&C) across multiple human spaceflight programs, working directly with the NASA program office to develop and independently assess cost estimates, develop integrated schedules, perform Earned Value Management (EVM), establish resources requirements, and manage program budgets. We coordinate the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) process across cost account managers, NASA Centers, major equipment manufacturers, international partners, commercial space, and individual program/projects teams to ensure mission objective are achieved in coordination with risk management and technical content.

ARES supports the development, maintenance, integration, and analysis of program and project schedules using commercial and custom schedule tools. ARES evaluates incoming schedule data for compliance with standard scheduling protocols and data structures. We develop and maintain integrated program schedules with milestone links to each individual project maintained by the performing organizations and supports the management of inter-dependencies between these organizations. To support these efforts, ARES created the ARES Schedule Integration Tool (ASIT) to integrate multiple program participant schedules and create customized schedule views for each organization. This facilitates data integration and data-driven decision making through schedule shift / slip analysis, what-if analysis, and visual overlays.

Risk Management is a fundamental focus of ARES. We have honed this capability over 30 years, having initially developed it in support of nuclear power plant operations, and now provide it to NASA human spaceflight programs, science missions, and DoD defense and launch programs. We implement Continuous Risk Management (CRM), Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM), and a tailored risk assessment process to assess, identify, mitigate, and manage risk throughout the project life cycle based. ARES develops and implement the risk management processes based on agency-level requirements and works with programs teams to ensure all risk are identified and controlled.

Developed originally for our NASA International Space Station customer, the ARES Risk Tracking System (ARTS) facilitates tracking of risks and opportunities, providing features for risk scoring, mitigation plan development, process workflows, and reports. ARTS is built on the flexible Atlassian Jira platform, providing direct opportunities for integration with management and task tracking processes. Jira also provides tailorable workflows and fields that can be modified without software changes, creating a future-proof solution on a platform that is already approved for use at most agencies. ARTS can integrate directly with existing Jira implementations, providing significant cost savings and synergies.

ARES provides systems engineering and integration for large, complex U.S. Government programs and operations including the Space Force Launch and Test Range System, NASA International Space Station, Commercial Crew, Orion, Exploration Ground Systems and Artemis missions. ARES directly supports the NASA program vehicle integration office, requirements and process management teams, test and verification process, spacecraft systems integration, and cross-program technical integration activities. Our teams develop and maintain program plans including systems engineering management plans, master verification plans, and certification of flight readiness plans, tailoring program documentation and verifying compliance with agency requirements.

We provide integrated project support for cost, schedule, and system engineering analysis across initiation and execution to closure and flight certification. ARES develops and manages integration of Project Implementation Plans and executes the Program and Project life cycle reviews and technical forums to gather data, discuss project status, and support integration of project tasks. ARES assists program managers with PP&C activities such as resource monitoring, integrated schedule assessments, budget planning, variance analysis, and risk management programs. For example, our teams developed and manage the cross-program interface control documents between NASA exploration elements, programs, and external partners. We also support the verification and acceptance process, managing the certification schedule for each International Space Station mission, as well as the Orion and EGS activities leading up to the launch of Artemis I.

ARES performs communication and educational outreach for multiple NASA programs, platforms, and institutional services. This includes Human Spaceflight programs, applied research, experimental technology development, and the NASA Safety Reporting System (NSRS). We provide strategic communication plan development, create customer outreach programs, coordinate events, and manage communication processes. Our multimedia and communication teams provide support for capture and collection of still and motion imagery, video, written communication products, and graphics. We also manage social media communications and work with the Office of Public Affairs to maintain a consistent message that aligns with overall agency branding.