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    The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) assures the safety and enhances the success of all NASA activities. Take a look around our website to learn what's happening in NASA's Safety and Mission Assurance community, including updates on disciplines, programs, policies and personnel.

Latest News

What's Happening in the SMA Community?

ODQN New

June 2021 ODQN Now Available

June 09, 2021
1-minute read

The June 2021 Issue of Orbital Debris Quarterly News (ODQN) is now available. This issue provides updates since February 2021, including two on-orbit breakups, a historical review of the Goldstone Orbital Debris Radar, and a tribute to former NASA Chief Scientist Nick Johnson, who recently passed away.

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Dillinger headshot

SMA Leadership Profile: Tracy Dillinger

June 03, 2021
4-minute read
Though they may not know her by name, NASA employees are familiar with the programs, initiatives and products created by Dr. Tracy Dillinger. She manages two key programs for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance: Safety Culture and Human Factors. She also served as the chair of the agency Safety Culture Working Group and agency Human Factors Task Force, is responsible for the NASA Safety Culture Survey, Safety Culture courses, NASA Human Factor Analysis and Classification training, the NASA Annual Human Factors report, and NASA Organizational Safety Assessments.
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EEE Parts Bulletin

New Issue of EEE Parts Bulletin Now Available

May 27, 2021
1-minute read

The latest issue of the EEE Parts Bulletin covers news from the Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEE) Parts discipline from October 2020 through May 2021. 

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Dr. J. Nick Benardini

NASA Announces New Planetary Protection Officer

May 27, 2021
2-minute read

NASA named Dr. J. Nick Benardini as the agency Planetary Protection Officer within the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, effective June 7.

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NASA Safety Reporting

NASA Safety Reporting

Learn more about reporting safety concerns at NASA.
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Yes, If Program

At NASA, safety is our first priority. When the possibility of something comes into question, our response should begin with, "Yes, if" instead of "No, because." Those who have exemplified this spirit of ingenuity, creativity and commitment to safety have received the "Yes, If" coin from the current chief of Safety and Mission Assurance. Recognize a NASA colleague who you believe should earn a "Yes, If" coin.

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Learn More About Yes, If Program

Featured Safety Message


nasa-nsc-smdec-thumb-lessons-from-challenger

Lessons From Challenger

January 04, 2021

This Jan. 28, marks the 35th anniversary of the Challenger accident. The loss of the crew was a tragedy felt by their families, friends and coworkers at the agency, as well as people throughout the world.

The Challenger accident taught us tough lessons and brought forward what have become recognizable phrases: normalization of deviance, organizational silence and silent safety program.

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Office of Safety and Mission Assurance

What We Do

The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) assures the safety and enhances the success of all NASA activities through the development, implementation and oversight of agency-wide safety, reliability, maintainability and quality assurance policies and procedures. OSMA includes the Mission Support Division, Safety and Assurance Requirements Division, and NASA Safety Center, as well as the Independent Verification and Validation Facility.

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Policy Status Updates

Recently Published

Recently Published
Policy Title Effective Date    
NPR 8621.1 NASA Procedural Requirements for Mishap and Close Call Reporting, Investigating and Recordkeeping March 4, 2021 See NPR 8621.1  
NASA-STD 8719.25  Range Flight Safety Requirements May 24, 2021 See NPR 8719.25  
NPR 8705.4A  Risk Classification for NASA Payloads April 29, 2021 See NPR 8705.4A  
NASA-STD 8719.7  Facility System Safety Guidebook March 30, 2021    
NASA- STD 8709.20 Management of Safety and Mission Assurance Technical Authority (SMA TA) Requirements April 12, 2021 See NASA- STD 8709.20  
NPR 8715.1B NASA Safety and Health Programs Feb. 1, 2021 See NPR 8715.1B  
NASA-STD 8719.12  Safety Standard for Explosives, Propellants and Pyrotechnics March 18, 2021 See NASA-STD-8719.12  
 NPR 8735.2 Hardware Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Programs and Projects March 15, 2021 See NPR 8735.2  
 NPR 8715.3 General Safety Program Requirements April 13, 2021 See NPR 8715.3  
NASA-STD 8739.12  Metrology & Calibration April 7, 2021 See NASA-STD 8739.12  
NPR 8705.6E  Safety and Mission Assurance Audits, Reviews and Assessments March 11, 2021 See NPR 8705.6E  
NASA-STD 8739.6B Implementation Requirements for NASA Workmanship Standards Feb. 4, 2021 See NASA-STD 8739.6B  
NPR 8715.7B NASA Payload Safety Program March 4, 2021 See NPR 8715.7B  
NASA STD-8719.11B  Standard for Fire Protection and Life Safety Feb. 24, 2021 See NASA-STD-8719.11B  
 NPD 8710.5 Policy for Pressure Vessels and Pressurized Systems Feb. 1, 2021    
» More Policy Updates

Currently in Review

Currently in Review
Policy Title  
NASA-STD 8739.5 Workmanship Standard for Fiber Optic Terminations, Cable Assemblies, and Installation See NASA-STD 8739.5
NPR 8000.4 Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirement See NPR 8000.4
 NPR XXXX.X  Nuclear Flight Safety  
NASA-STD-8719.24B Annex Annex to NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Safety Requirements See NASA-STD-8719.24B
NASA-STD-8719.24A NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Safety Requirements  
NPR 8715 Draft 25 Planetary Protection Provisions for Robotic Extraterrestrial Missions (Previous document number 8020.12)  
NASA-STD-8719.26 Alternate/Supplemental Standard for Non-Code Metallic Pressure Vessels (Previous document number 8719.22)  
» More Policy Updates

Upcoming Reviews

Upcoming Reviews To see that latest draft of a policy or participate in a review, please send us a request.
Policy Title  
 NPR 8705.5 Technical Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Procedures for Safety and Mission Success for NASA Programs and Projects See NPR 8715.6
NPR 8715.6 NASA Procedural Requirements for Limiting Orbital Debris and Evaluating the Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Environments See NPR 8715.6
NPD 8700.1 NASA Policy for Safety and Mission Success See NPD 8700.1
NASA-STD 8719.14 Process for Limiting Orbital Debris See NASA-STD 8719.14
NPR 8715.3 General Safety Program Requirements See NPR 8715.3
NASA-STD 8719.17 NASA Requirements for Ground-Based Pressure Vessels and Pressurized Systems (VPS)  
NASA-STD 8709.20 Management of Safety and Mission Assurance Technical Authority (SMA TA) Requirements See NASA-STD 8709.20
NASA-STD-8719.9  Lifting Standard See NASA-STD-8719.9
NASA-STD-8719.25  Range Flight Safety Requirements  
 NPR 8621.1 NASA Procedural Requirements for Mishap and Close Call Reporting, Investigating and Recordkeeping See NPR 8621.1
NPD 8730.5 NASA Quality Assurance Program Policy See NPD 8730.5
NASA-STD 8739.11 EEE Parts Selection, Screening, Qualification & Derating
NASA-STD-8739.4 Workmanship Standard for Crimping Interconnecting Cables, Harnesses and Wiring See NASA-STD-8739.4
NPR Nuclear Flight Safety
NASA-STD-8739.1 Workmanship Standard for Polymeric Application on Electronic Assemblies See NASA-STD-8739.1
NASA-STD-8739.5 Workmanship Standard for Fiber Optic Terminations, Cable Assemblies, and Installation See NASA-STD-8739.5
NPD 8730.2 NASA Parts Policy See NPD 8730.2
NPD 8720.1 NASA Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) Program Policy See NPD 8720.1
NASA-STD 87xx Wind Tunnel Model Systems Criteria  
STD Planetary Protection  
NPD 8020.7 Biological Contamination Control for Outbound and Inbound Planetary Spacecraft See NPD 8020.7
» More Policy Updates