Erin Lalime

Acting Deputy Planetary Protection Officer

Erin Lalime is the acting deputy Planetary Protection Officer for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). In this role, she supports the Office of Planetary Protection (PP) in its work to promote the responsible exploration of the solar system by implementing and developing efforts that protect the science, explored environments and Earth. In addition to this role, Lalime is also an aerospace and PP engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center. Before becoming a civil servant, Lalime worked at Goddard as a microbiologist and PP engineer for Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies. 

Dr. Elaine Seasly

Acting Mission Assurance Standards and Capabilities Division Director

Dr. Elaine Seasly is the acting Mission Assurance Standards and Capabilities Division director, responsible for the development and maintenance of NASA directives and standards pertaining to SMA, as well as related methods, tools and guidance.

Seasly is also the deputy Planetary Protection Officer for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). In this role, she supports the Office of Planetary Protection in its work to promote the responsible exploration of the solar system by implementing and developing efforts that protect the science, explored environments and Earth. 

Seasly joined OSMA after serving as the NASA Langley Research Center contamination control and Planetary Protection lead since 2015. As contamination control and Planetary Protection lead, Seasly was responsible for developing contamination control and Planetary Protection requirements and implementation plans and evaluating compliance of flight projects to meet NASA mission needs. In addition, she developed and led the growth strategy for Langley contamination control and Planetary Protection to increase facility capabilities, research opportunities, flight project support, knowledge management and lessons learned sharing, and collaboration through partnerships.

Prior to joining NASA, she worked for Raytheon Missile Systems, where she led contamination control efforts for missile defense and tactical missile programs and later transitioned to program management and management of small business innovation research.

Seasly has a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona, a Master of Science in patent law from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctor of Engineering from George Washington University. She is also a registered patent agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Johnny Nguyen

Missions and Programs Assessment Division Director

Johnny T. Nguyen is currently the director of the Missions and Programs Assessment Division. In this position, he leads Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) activities in support of NASA's diverse portfolio of missions and programs, including spacecraft, science payloads, launch vehicles, technology development and aeronautics. In addition, he provides the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance's primary interface with the NASA mission directorates and the center SMA organizations.

Prior to this role, Nguyen was the associate manager for Integration and Analysis in Gateway Deep Space Logistics located at Kennedy Space Center. In this role, Nguyen provided project management leadership for the logistics missions for Gateway in the areas of budget, resources, workforce, governance, contract management, configuration management, Risk Management and life cycle schedule.

Previously, Nguyen was an office chief in Kennedy SMA Directorate. Here, he provided leadership and direction for planning, organizing and leading special projects and assuring that safe, efficient requirements, policies, practices and processes were established. Nguyen also served as the Kennedy senior strategic advisor, providing strategic guidance to all levels of leadership. He helped to identify overall Kennedy goals and objectives and then communicated and aligned center priorities to meet the objectives of the NASA Strategic Plan. In April 2014, Nguyen graduated from the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders’ sponsored Senior Executive Service Development Program.  Nguyen served as the chief of the Fluids Test and Technology Development Branch at Kennedy in October 2009. He was also the Kennedy Space Shuttle Transition and Retirement manager, which oversaw the strategy and execution on how to properly and most effectively transition the 300+ facilities and over one million line items of personal property located at Kennedy.

Nguyen attended the University of Central Florida where he received a Bachelor in Science degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s in business administration. He has worked for Kennedy since 1998. Nguyen is a first generation Vietnamese who enjoys traveling and drawing.

W. Russ DeLoach

CHIEF, SAFETY AND MISSION ASSURANCE

William Russ DeLoach is NASA's chief of Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA). Appointed to this role in January 2021, DeLoach is responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of SMA policies and procedures for all NASA programs.

Prior to this assignment, DeLoach served as the SMA director at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where he led a dedicated team of experts in assuring workforce safety and collaborating on smart solutions to human spaceflight risks since February 2019. His team worked to identify, characterize, mitigate and communicate risk to accomplish safe and successful human space exploration.

He previously held the same role at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where he was responsible for the planning and execution of center and program activities. In this capacity, he developed transformative SMA approaches to enable the success of Kennedy as the world’s premier multi-use spaceport.

DeLoach began his NASA career in 1987, on assignment as an intern in the Army Material Command’s Quality and Reliability Engineering training program. Returning to Kennedy, he conducted Reliability and System Safety analyses, as well as technical reviews and assessments of integrated ground systems, equipment, and operations for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. In 2000, he was selected as the SMA branch chief within the Shuttle Processing Directorate, providing surveillance of space shuttle ground operations. 

As his career progressed, he served as the shuttle processing mission assurance manager supporting ground processing, launch and landing.  In 2006, DeLoach stood up the SMA Support Office for the emerging Constellation Program and later oversaw the transition of Constellation efforts to support Orion and the Space Launch System. After the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, he was instrumental in the transformation of Kennedy to a thriving multiuser spaceport, developing an approach to enable public-private partnerships in a manner that maintains an acceptable risk posture for NASA, while allowing flexibility and innovation for commercial interests. He became Kennedy’s deputy director of SMA in 2012 and then SMA director in 2014. 

DeLoach holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is married to Janice, a retired educator, and they have three grown children.

Grant Watson

Institutional Safety Management Division Director

Grant Watson is the director of the Institutional Safety Management Division in the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. In this role, Watson is responsible for facilitating a team dynamic across the centers, advocating for centers at the Headquarters level, establishing delegated safety program leads, driving policy direction and change, and implementing Institutional Safety Authority.

Prior to this role, Watson was the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) director at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In this role, he was the senior management official responsible for the health and safety of over 3,600 engineers, technicians and scientists. He also was responsible for facility assurance of research facilities valued at more than $3.3 billion.

Langley, founded in 1917, is the nation’s first civilian aeronautical research facility and NASA’s oldest field center. Langley was the first federal facility to achieve the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Programs Star status in 1998, and was re-certified in 2002, 2007 and 2012. This recognition by OSHA is indicative that Langley’s health and safety program is world-class. Watson has played a role in implementing, developing and leading this world-class health and safety program since 1995.

Watson has more than 20 years of SMA experience, performing or leading work in the following areas: Occupational Safety, industrial hygiene, health and medical, facility assurance, Fire Protection, emergency services, System Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance. He has held key SMA positions at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Langley, worked in private industry, and supported the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. He also contributed to the mission success of numerous space shuttle launches, the Ares 1-X vehicle, and the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System instruments.

Watson is a graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. He received a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University and is a recipient of the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.

He currently resides in Yorktown, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys running and spending time with his daughters.

Don Helton

Nuclear Flight Safety Officer

Donald "Don" Helton is the Nuclear Flight Safety Officer in the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, responsible for reviewing the Nuclear Launch Safety Approval Requests submitted by programs and projects that plan to launch radioactive material in to space, in accordance with NASA directives and requirements. In this role, he also coordinates the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Board, which evaluates the quality of the safety analysis associated with nuclear missions that meet criteria specified in NSPM-20, “Presidential Memorandum on Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems,” issued Aug. 20, 2019.

Prior to his current role, Helton was a senior reliability and risk analyst at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In this role, he performed risk assessment activities related to the significance determination of inspection findings and emergent conditions for operating commercial nuclear power plants, contributed to broad agency activities in Risk-Informed Decision Making, and supported the development of regulatory guidance relating to the use of risk-informed regulation. During his 18 years at the NRC, Helton developed and reviewed probabilistic safety assessments for spent fuel wet storage, including its use in both safety basis activities and National Environmental Policy Act activities; served as the NRC-appointed technical adviser for the nuclear launch safety review of the Mars 2020 Interagency Nuclear Safety Review; contributed to risk assessment consensus standard development; and served as a Subject Matter Expert in Level 2 Probabilistic Risk Assessment for an International Atomic Energy Agency review mission. Separately, Helton served in varying roles as a responder for the NRC’s Emergency Operations Center. He was a recipient of the NRC's Meritorious Service Award.

Helton has a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M university, focused on the use of computational fluid dynamics in nuclear applications, including a traineeship at France’s Le Commissariat a L’Energie Atomique’s Centre Saclay. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University, which included research in the area of reactor physics. He was born and raised in Union County, North Carolina. Helton currently resides in Rockville, Maryland, with his wife and two daughters. He spends his free time fishing, biking, volunteering and playing guitar.

Deirdre Healey

Missions and Programs Assessment Division Director

Deirdre Healey is the director of the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) Missions and Programs Assessment Division at NASA Headquarters. In this position, she leads Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) activities in support of NASA's spacecraft (including the International Space Station and space hardware developed for exploration programs and commercial space activities), science payloads, expendable launch vehicles and aeronautics programs. In addition, she provides OSMA’s primary interface with the NASA mission directorates, the Office of the Chief Technologist and the center SMA organizations.

Previously, Healey supported SMA activities for the Human Exploration and Operations Exploration Systems Directorate where she led efforts to incorporate SMA policies and tenets into the agency’s various human space flight programs including Orion, the Space Launch System and the new Commercial Crew Program.

Healey has more than 26 years of experience in space systems SMA, program management, engineering, operations and policy. Prior to joining NASA, she led development and operations of national and international space systems in the U.S. Air Force. She held various roles including program manager for the Inertial Upper Stage Rocket Booster Program, director of Titan Program Operations and Integration, deputy program manager for Launch Projects at Cape Canaveral Air Station, chief of the International Policy Branch for United States Strategic Command, and technical director for requirements at the Air Force Satellite Control Network. In addition, she served on various Mishap Investigation Boards including the president-commissioned Launch Broad Area Review and the Titan IVA-20 Accident Investigation Board.

Healey has a master's degree in government from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois.

Frank J. Groen

Deputy Chief, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance 

Dr. Frank J. Groen is the deputy chief of NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). In this position, he is responsible for executive leadership, policy direction, functional management and coordination for agency-wide program and institutional Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) activities.

Prior to be appointed to this position, Groen was the director of the Safety and Assurance Requirements Division within OSMA, responsible for the development and maintenance of NASA directives and standards pertaining to SMA, as well as related methods, tools and guidance.

Groen worked in OSMA as the manager for Reliability and Maintainability (R&M), and also served as the document manager for NASA’s Human Rating Directive and program executive for NASA’s Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Safety Program. During this period, he introduced the safety goal policy for human spaceflight missions to the Human-Rating Directive, oversaw the development of an accident precursor analysis methodology for NASA and initiated an objectives-driven approach for the standardization of R&M activities.

Before joining NASA, Groen was active in academia and industry, where he focused on method and tool development in the field of reliability and risk assessment, with a focus on Bayesian data analysis, accident scenario modeling and analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in reliability engineering from the University of Maryland in 2000 and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.

Terrence W. Wilcutt

CHIEF, SAFETY AND MISSION ASSURANCE

Terrence W. Wilcutt is NASA's chief of Safety and Mission Assurance. Appointed to this role in September 2011, Wilcutt is responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of all Safety and Mission Assurance policies and procedures for all NASA programs.

Wilcutt is a retired Marine colonel and veteran astronaut who previously served as director of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA's Johnson Space Center from 2008 to 2011. In that position, Wilcutt was tasked with the Safety Technical Authority of the programs and projects at Johnson, as well as the center's Institutional Safety program.

Wilcutt joined NASA in 1990 as an astronaut candidate and was accepted into the corps in 1991. He logged more than 1,007 hours in space as the pilot on two shuttle missions, STS-68 in 1994 and STS-79 in 1996, and commander of two others, STS-89 in 1998 and STS-106 in 2000. His technical assignments as an astronaut included work on space shuttle main engine and external tank issues; supporting shuttle launches and landings as a member of the astronaut support personnel team at Kennedy Space Center; and technical issues for the Astronaut Office Operations Development Branch at Johnson.

Wilcutt also served as NASA director of operations at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia; and at Johnson as chief of the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch, manager of Safety and Mission Assurance for the Space Shuttle Program, and deputy director of Safety and Mission Assurance.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Wilcutt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in math from Western Kentucky University in 1974. He taught high school math for two years before entering the Marine Corps in 1976 and earned his naval aviator wings in 1978.

From 1980 until 1983, he was stationed in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and flew F-4 Phantoms during two overseas deployments to Japan, Korea and the Philippines. For the next three years, he served as an F/A-18 fighter weapons and air combat maneuvering instructor while assigned to Squadron VFA-125 at Lemoore Naval Air Station in California. From 1986 until his selection by NASA, Wilcutt attended the United States Naval Test Pilot School and served as a test pilot and project officer for the Strike Aircraft Test Directorate of the Naval Aircraft Test Center in Patuxent River, Maryland, flying the F/A-18 Hornet, the A-7 Corsair II, the F-4 Phantom and other aircraft. He has more than 6,600 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

Wilcutt has received numerous special honors, including NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Exceptional Service Medal and four space flight medals; the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Defense Superior Service and Meritorious Service medals; and the Navy Commendation Medal. He also has received the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; the V.M. Komarov Diploma, Federation Aeronautique Internationale space award for outstanding achievements in space exploration; and distinguished alumnus recognition and an honorary doctorate degree from Western Kentucky University.

Wilcutt maintains offices in Houston and Washington.