NASA personnel at Marshall Space Flight Center are preparing for a big lift in support of the Artemis Program.

In the coming months, NASA intends to use four strand jacks in unison to lower the test stand’s crosshead, which weighs 1.25 million pounds, or 625 tons, onto Test Stand 4693 with the Exploration Upper Stage test article underneath. 

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. 

The Institutional Safety and Health Managers Council (ISHMC) brought together safety and health leaders from across the agency this April at Kennedy Space Center. The meeting marked the beginning of a new approach to safety and health management at the agency level. 

NASA updated NPR 8715.3, NASA General Safety Program Requirements on April 13 from Revision D With Change 2 to Revision D With Change 3. This update reflects recent changes to and ensures consistency with NPR 8715.1, NASA Safety and Health Programs. 

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. 

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance released NPR 8621.1D, NASA Procedural Requirements for Mishap and Close Call Reporting, Investigating, and Recordkeeping, effective July 6, 2020. In addition to various administrative changes, the update includes two new chapters focused on commercial launch and aircraft mishaps. 

Grant Watson unknowingly spent his entire career preparing for his new role, a role that didn’t even exist until this year. As the director of the newly-formed Institutional Safety Management Division of the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, Watson’s 25 plus years in Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA), as well as his executive role as Langley Research Center’s SMA director, give him the knowledge and experience to succeed.

When something goes wrong, swift action is often necessary, especially in the case of a severe mishap or high-visibility mishap or close call. Knowing what to do ahead of these incidents can help in the aftermath.

After each of NASA’s major mishaps — Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia — the agency investigated the mishap and applied findings to future flights. As spaceflight became safer with the implementation of the lessons learned, mishap investigations also improved from each experience. With NASA preparing to fly three new crewed space vehicles in the coming years, clear understanding of the Mishap Investigation process with regards to Human Spaceflight and the underlying authorities and legal landscape of these investigations becomes paramount. 

NASA-STD-8719.9, Lifting Standard went into effect Nov. 2, 2018. The update consisted of slight technical changes, new recommended Lifting Device Equipment Manager minimum requirements and editorial cleanup. Because this standard went through a major revision three years ago, updates to this revision were minor.