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. 

The Mars Ingenuity Helicopter will take its first steps toward demonstrating powered flight in the Martian atmosphere, with a first attempt at a powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet scheduled for no earlier than April 8, 2021. The helicopter rode to Mars in the Perseverance Rover's belly pan and will be deployed for flight testing from the red planet's surface in April. 

Recent updates to NPR 8735.2, Hardware Quality Assurance Program Requirements for Programs and Projects consolidate Office of Safety and Mission Assurance policy into a hierarchy, make life cycle Quality Assurance more obvious without increasing prescription, and present approaches and solutions for a set of mission assurance objectives. 

NASA’s Safety and Mission Assurance Reliability and Maintainability team is progressing with its Digital Transformation strategy to create solutions that enable seamless data flow and collaboration across centers. Integrating digital technologies will streamline engineering processes and data acquisition, share data among missions and centers seamlessly, leverage tools and technology across the agency, and ensure mission success through knowledge and influence.

NASA uses the Programmable Josephson Voltage Standard (PJVS) to ensure the agency’s calibrations include the most accurate voltage measurement with the lowest measurement uncertainty possible. 

Langley Research Center is actively using state-of-the-art Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) modeling and simulation tools to accelerate the adoption of advanced materials and ensure the safety of aging infrastructure.