Since last December, representatives from NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance’s Nondestructive Evaluation program have provided presentations to various audiences that highlighted their efforts and new ventures related to Additive Manufacturing. 

NASA published an updated version of NASA-STD-8739.5, Workmanship Standard for Fiber Optic Terminations, Cable Assemblies, and Installation, on Sept. 14, 2015. This update adds an exclusion and a new requirement in addition to meeting agency requirements to periodically check and refresh the standard.

NASA’s new system changes how the agency generates and searches for NASA Advisories.  

In 2014, the Electrostatic Discharge Association updated its primary Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) control standard: American National Standards Institute/ESD S20.20. The changes affect how NASA defines the minimum requirements for ESD controls applied when the agency and its suppliers process and handle mission hardware that is sensitive to damaging ESD events.

Although Additive Manufacturing (AM) has been around for decades, increasing awareness of the significant benefits of flying 3D printed parts and using 3D printers in space has pushed NASA and the aerospace industry to take a close look at how to evaluate and certify AM parts to assure safety and mission success. 

NASA programs are exploring risk-based approaches that reduce cost without increasing risk for safety-critical attributes as a replacement for Government Mandatory Inspection Points (GMIPs). Quality Assurance and risk management officers from NASA programs and industry gathered at ATK in Promontory, Utah, on Oct. 22-23 to share their ideas and methods.

The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program hosted an international Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical Parts workshop focusing on small missions.

NASA and other government and industry partners have made substantial progress this year in the development of technical standards that effectively mitigate the longstanding and growing threat posed by electrostatic discharge. 

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance has developed a three-year plan to develop Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) methodologies designed to ensure the production of safe and reliable Additive Manufactured (AM) parts for spaceflight applications. AM, or 3-D printing, is a rapidly growing technology that has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing by reducing component lead time, cost, material waste and energy usage. 

Henry Livingston, an engineering fellow and technical director at BAE Systems Electronic Systems, is in the process of writing a series of essays — "Ruminations, Myths and Unreliable Facts" — that provides insight on the serious and growing issue of counterfeit parts. The Introduction and Chapters 1-2 are now available on his website.