The Hungarian space research knowledge management project: a focus on the Rosetta Mission

Purpose - The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is supported by the Hungarian Ministry of Informatics and Communications (RMKI). RMKI started a research and development project in 2003 with the aim of studying the knowledge management methods for long duration space research projects and to develop an information system providing a base for saving and using the knowledge gathered. The aim of this article is to investigate the RMKI research and development project.Design methodology approach - This article first describes the environment of the project, details the questions identified by the project staff, and gives some characteristics of the solutions when found.Findings - The article finds that the outcomes identified by a knowledge management project grow fast and have a tendency to become unmanageable very quickly, even if technical questions are taken into consideration when starting. The main question remains whether an acceptable solution exists in the area covered by the economical resources.Originality value - This article focuses on the technical aspects of knowledge management projects and identifies a mechanism for setting up an information system with the capacity to support knowledge preservation for at least a decade, which is considered to be a long period.