Members of NASA's Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) community are sharing their expertise and innovative approaches to software safety, mission assurance, Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM), commercial spaceflight and Technical Authority (TA) at the 14th International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) Conference in Antibes, France, Oct. 20-22.

The conference attendees represent international space safety professionals, industry leaders and decision makers who specialize in the management of system safety risks, starting with the design phase, through operations and disposal.

To support the conference theme, “Together for a Safe Space Frontier,” several NASA SMA leaders will present papers on topics that reinforced the agency's leadership role in enabling the next generation of exploration.

In addition, Nathan Vassberg, NASA OSMA chief, is delivering a keynote address, “The Gravity of Trust: Why We Invite You to Do Scary Things.” This keynote emphasizes that SMA’s role is not to prevent ambitious or risky endeavors, but to understand, manage and reduce risk so scientists and organizations can confidently and safely pursue exploration, innovation and mission success.

Collectively, the presentations and papers demonstrate the breadth of expertise within NASA's SMA community and highlight how the agency is evolving assurance practices to address emerging challenges in an increasingly commercial, autonomous and interconnected space environment.

Advancing Software Safety Through Cross-Program Learning

Issues such as data corruption, timing anomalies, configuration errors and common-cause failures are systemic software challenges rather than isolated events.

In the paper, “Hazards Across NASA Programs: Enhancing Safety Through Software Assurance and IV&V,” author Robert T. (“Tim”) Crumbley, NASA Software Assurance (SA) technical fellow based at Marshall Space Flight Center, examines recurring software-related hazards across major NASA programs.

Using data from NASA's Cross-Program Hazard System, the analysis identifies common risk patterns and highlights opportunities for more coordinated, agencywide SA efforts.

Combining advanced analytics and Super Intelligence (SI)-assisted hazard analysis with rigorous SI and Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) practices can help NASA move from reactive hazard discovery to proactive hazard prediction. This will help strengthen the safety and reliability of increasingly autonomous and software-intensive missions.

Evolving Mission Assurance for Commercial Human Spaceflight

NASA is adapting traditional human spaceflight assurance approaches to support commercial providers while maintaining confidence in crew safety and mission success.

The paper, “Evolving Human Spaceflight Mission Assurance in a Commercial World,” addresses one of NASA's most pressing challenges: assuring crew safety in an era of rapidly expanding commercial spaceflight.

Authors Michael Graybill, Chief SMA Officer for the Low Earth Orbit Program in the Commercial Destinations Office; Elizabeth Blome, technical integrator, Commercial Crew Program; and Erin Waggoner, branch chief, Research Aerodynamics and Propulsion Branch at Armstrong Flight Research Center; describe how NASA's Suborbital Crew (SubC) initiative is applying a Risk Informed Safety Case (RISC) methodology and lessons from the Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review process to assess commercially developed space transportation systems.

Building Resilient Supply Chains for Future Missions

Supply chain resilience has become increasingly important as NASA's missions rely on complex networks of commercial, government and international partners.

The paper, “From Reactive to Resilient: NASA’s Supply Chain Visibility Initiative,” presents NASA's enterprise-wide Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) initiative, a proactive framework designed to improve insight into supply chain risks and vulnerabilities.

Authors include OSMA staff, including Valle Kauniste, NASA SCRM program executive and Lisa Hicks, SCRM program deputy; and KBR Wyle Services contractor staff Olga Ceritelli, senior SCRM strategist, and Claudia Tobar, SCRM strategist.

SCV gives NASA visibility into multi-tier supply chains (from prime contractors down to sub-tier suppliers and raw material sources). This visibility is intended to help NASA detect risks earlier, such as supplier instability, counterfeit parts, geopolitical disruptions or material shortages before they impact missions.

The OSMA SCRM program is helping NASA move from reactive to predictive risk management by increasing visibility into suppliers, materials and critical mission components across multiple tiers of the industrial base.

Preparing for the Future of Commercial Spaceflight Standards

As commercial spaceflight continues to grow, standards development has become even more vital to mission assurance.

In the paper, “Standards Roadmapping for Mission Assurance in Commercial Spaceflight,” author Frances M. Heinlein (The Aerospace Corporation), project lead for NASA’s Missions and Programs Assessment Division (MPAD), explores how technology roadmapping principles can be adapted to guide standards planning and integration.

The paper highlights OSMA efforts to develop a standards integration roadmap that supports collaboration with industry, international partners and standards development organizations while advancing the adoption of consensus standards for commercial spaceflight.

Role of Independent Technical Authority (TA)

Independent technical assessment remains essential to maintaining safety, mission success and effective governance at NASA.

The paper, “Independent Technical Authority From Challenger to Artemis: How Safety Governance Must Evolve Without Losing Its Independence,” examines the role of NASA's independent TA.

Co-authored by Johnny Nguyen, MPAD director, and Steven Hirshorn, NASA chief engineer for Aeronautics, the paper reviews the challenges of TA as the agency evolves, including issues related to personnel with dual responsibilities, inconsistent implementation and funding that is often tied to the programs and projects TA is intended to independently oversee.

Drawing comparisons with the U.S. military after the Goldwater-Nichols Act, Saab Aeronautics, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the authors explore alternative approaches to technical oversight and safety governance.

While NASA's TA model should continue to adapt to changing missions, organizational structures and commercial partnerships, preserving its independent oversight function is essential to supporting informed decision-making and mission success across the agency.