Revision A of NASA STD 8739.12, Metrology and Calibration took effect November 21, 2024. The standard provides uniform Metrology and Calibration requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods that are endorsed as standard for NASA applications. This update marks the first revision since the document’s initial release in 2018.

For this revision, the Metrology and Calibration Program updated and clarified existing information, added new information and made two format corrections to the document.

In Section 1.2.2, the program added examples of in-scope use cases, noting that the standard is applicable to measurement applications where quantitative data accuracy is necessary to ensure safety, mission success, the credibility of published research products and regulatory compliance. These use cases are further explained in Appendix A.

Section 3.2 now includes an updated definition for “metrological traceability”, to bring the NASA standard more in line with industry terms and definitions, stating that it is “the property of a measurement result whereby the result can be related to a reference through a documented unbroken chain of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement uncertainty.”

The program also modernized the phrasing of the metrological traceability requirement in both the standard’s forward and Section 4.1.

Additionally, Section 4.2.3 now outlines traceability and data requirements when a conforming calibration cannot be obtained, and the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is used for verification.

For questions regarding the revisions, contact Office of Safety and Mission Assurance Quality Engineering Technical Discipline Team Lead Don Brandl.