In 2014, the Electrostatic Discharge Association updated its primary Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) control standard: American National Standards Institute/ESD S20.20. The changes affect how NASA defines the minimum requirements for ESD controls applied when the agency and its suppliers process and handle mission hardware that is sensitive to damaging ESD events.

Although Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been around for decades, increasing awareness of the significant benefits of flying 3D printed parts and using 3D printers in space has pushed NASA and the aerospace industry to take a close look at how to evaluate and certify AM parts to assure safety and mission success. 

Greg Blaney leads NASA IV&V with a focus on teamwork, safety, values, customer satisfaction and supporting mission success across the agency. 

Listen as Deputy Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance Hal Bell delivers a Safety Message on normalization of deviance and groupthink. 

NASA’s Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) Payload Safety Program hosted a workshop at Kennedy Space Center Dec. 3-4.

See the latest issue of Orbital Debris Quarterly News. 

The revised NASA-STD-8719.9, Lifting Standard — formerly Standard for Lifting Devices and Equipment — is currently in review. The new version has been updated and streamlined for clarity and ease of use.

As more NASA programs and projects begin using Unmanned Aircraft Systems to achieve their missions, the agency must carefully implement policies and controls to ensure safety.

Goddard Space Flight Center developed Mission Configuration and the Failure Interrogation and Archiving Tool to improve reliability predictions for missions.

NASA programs are exploring risk-based approaches that reduce cost without increasing risk for safety-critical attributes as a replacement for Government Mandatory Inspection Points (GMIPs). Quality Assurance and risk management officers from NASA programs and industry gathered at ATK in Promontory, Utah, on Oct. 22-23 to share their ideas and methods.