Merriam Webster defines a leader simply as a “person who leads.” For Kennedy Space Center Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Director Ronnie Rodriguez, a leader is better defined by why people follow him or her.

NASA engineered the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to withstand continual bombardment from dust-sized particles moving at extreme velocities, known as micrometeoroid strikes. To date, JWST is averaging one to two strikes a month.

Although both Planetary Protection and Planetary Defense programs at NASA include the word “planetary” and aim to protect the planet, that’s where similarities end. These two vital efforts oversee very different aspects of the agency’s role in protecting Earth, and in some cases, other planets. 

The agency’s Quality Leadership Forum (QLF) met Sept. 13-15, 2022, at NASA Headquarters to focus on issues of particular interest and significance that are faced by NASA Quality Engineering and Assurance practitioners assigned to aeronautics and space flight program and project teams. The focus was on processes executed internally by NASA. 

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance released NASA-STD-8719.27, Planetary Protection Standard, effective Aug. 30, 2022. The standard is a follow-on document complementing NPR 8715.24, Planetary Protection Provisions for Robotic Extraterrestrial Missions. It addresses and is relevant to both crewed and robotic missions and covers the technical details a mission should consider for the design and execution of the Planetary Protection mission throughout the project life cycle. It is relevant starting in the Mission Concept Review and System Requirements Review phase by defining the Planetary Protection categorization to end-of-mission disposal reporting.

NASA’s Explosives and Pyrotechnics Safety program recently released “Explosives Safety Awareness Training for Managers, Supervisors and Non-Explosives Personnel” (SMA-HQ-WBT-222) in SATERN. This online course provides an overview of Explosives Safety flow-down requirements and responsibilities for program, project and element managers throughout NASA. It emphasizes the responsibilities of personnel and safety awareness of operations that involve the handling, storage, transportation and processing of explosives.

The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance enhanced the Payload Safety program to cover all payload projects. As part of this process, the program recently released a revision to NASA-STD-8719.24, NASA Payload Safety Requirements, effective March 20, 2022. This standard update followed a significant revision to NPR 8715.7B, NASA Payload Safety Program, effective April 27, 2020.

The NASA Range Flight Safety Program, with support from the NASA Safety Center, recently released an update to “Range Flight Safety Analysis” (SMA-AS-WBT-435), available in SATERN. The new training includes recent policy changes, updated materials and the new Federal Aviation Administration Code of Federal Regulations Part 450 requirements. It also converts previous in-class exercises to instructor-led demonstrations.

Last month, the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and NASA Safety Center released “Planetary Protection Overview” (SMA-STL-WBT-300) in SATERN. The new course includes the definition of Planetary Protection, details of its implementation and practices, and information about its applicability to some of NASA’s space flight missions.

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) updated NPD 8700.1, NASA Policy for Safety and Mission Success, effective July 28, 2022, building on developments from the past decade, including experiences from commercial crew, discussions about robotic mission classification, changes to the agency’s governance handbook and NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel recommendations. OSMA solicited and incorporated feedback from centers, mission directorates and other offices into the final release.