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.

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.

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. 

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

The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance’s Workmanship Standards program recently updated NASA-STD-8739.6, Implementation Requirements for NASA Workmanship Standards to

• Align with changes in industry standards
• Expand Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) control requirements
• Clarify training requirements
• Reflect changes in other NASA Policy Directives and NASA Procedural Requirements

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) made significant updates to NPR 8705.4A, Risk Classification for NASA Payloads, effective April 29. 2021. OSMA updated the policy to reflect changes in risk acceptance and Technical Authority concurrence policies, to formalize and shorten the timeline for the risk classification process, to provide clearer and earlier documentation of the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) implementation approach, and (most importantly) better align stakeholder and implementer expectations. 

The Human Factors Task Force is hosting a virtual NASA Human Factors Analysis and Classifications System (NASAHFACS) training and certification course, available to NASA personnel interested in learning about the impact of Human Factors across the agency. The three-day certification course will be July 27-29, 2021, via Microsoft Teams.

The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program is working to further advance packaging technology that has become a critical feature of modern Electrical, Electronic, Electromechanical and Electro-optical parts. In collaboration with its academic partner Georgia Tech, the NEPP Program is exploring 2.5/3D glass substrate technology for space applications.

Recent updates to NPR 8705.6, Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Audits, Reviews, and Assessments on March 29,2021, added the chief health and medical officer to the list of Technical Authorities who may request a Safety and Mission Success Review (SMSR). Along with the chief of SMA and chief engineer, the chief health and medical officer will be able to officially request and participate in SMSRs.

Two recent changes to NASA policy directly affect NASA’s Construction Safety community and its commercial suppliers and contractors. These changes went into effect Feb. 1, 2021.