Following several months of collaboration, the NASA Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) roadmap planning and risk classification document NPR 8705.4B Risk Classification for NASA Payloads is being formally released to the agency. This revision, which replaces NPR 8705.4A, provides center, program and project SMA activity planners (including Reliability) with a one-stop authoritative SMA planning source. 

Revision A of NASA STD 8739.12, Metrology and Calibration took effect November 21, 2024. The standard provides uniform Metrology and Calibration requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods that are endorsed as standard for NASA applications. This update marks the first revision since the document’s initial release in 2018.

NASA recently published revision C of NASA-STD-8719.9, Lifting Standard. This standard establishes NASA’s mission requirements for the design, construction, testing, inspection, maintenance, operation, and personnel licensing of Lifting Devices and Equipment (LDE) to enhance safety and reliability and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. It applies to NASA-owned, rented, leased and NASA contractor-supplied LDE.

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) recently updated its Planetary Protection (PP) policy, available on the COSPAR PP website. The COSPAR Panel on PP subcommittee proposed and drafted this new policy.

NASA recently released NASA-STD-7919.1, NASA Commercial Aviation Services (CAS) Standard, which provides the technical requirements for commercial aircraft flight operations. It is effective as of July 10, 2024.

NASA recently published NPR 8715.6E, Orbital Debris Mitigation. This NPR defines the roles, responsibilities and procedural requirements concerning the implementation and review of orbital debris mitigation measures by NASA and NASA-sponsored missions.

NASA released NASA-STD-8719.28, Wind Tunnel Model Systems Criteria, effective Oct. 10, 2022. The new agency standard — which replaces local center standards at Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center and Langley Research Center — ensures models can move seamlessly between the centers for testing in various wind tunnels. 

NPR 8705.5, Technical Probabilistic Risk Assessment Procedures for Safety and Mission Success for NASA Programs and Projects was cancelled, a move consistent with the policy direction to be more objectives-driven, as defined in the recent update to NPD 8700.1, NASA Policy for Safety and Mission Success.

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.