Video Library

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is seeing increased application in the planning and design phase of NASA’s missions.

This webinar will provide an overview of MBSE and its implementation at NASA as Model-Based Mission Assurance (MBMA). Steve Cornford, senior engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will discuss the challenges MBMA faces and Safety and Mission Assurance's (SMA) role in this environment.

In MBSE, a virtual model of the system is created, typically while it is still in the designing and planning phase. The model is used as a singular reference source — a "single point-of-truth" — for system concept, requirements and design, and verification and validation and associated data. By using the MBSE model, SMA personnel will be able to run simulations and tests in real time. In addition to being timelier, Model-Based Mission Assurance (MBMA) promises to be more flexible, quick and cost-effective.

In this Johnson Space Center "Back in the Saddle" event, veteran Apollo 13 astronauts Jim Lovell and Fred Haise, Chief Flight Director Holly Ridings, former Flight Director Milt Windler, and Apollo/Orion engineer Hank Rotter compare lessons learned from Apollo 13 that apply to Artemis missions planned in the coming year. Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance Russ DeLoach moderates.

Everyone at NASA is responsible for the safety and health of our community. Learn about the NASA Safety Reporting System, an anonymous, voluntary and responsive way to report safety concerns directly to NASA's upper management.

In this Knowledge Byte, Safety and Mission Success Review (SMSR) Program Manager Eric Raynor discusses the purpose and importance of a SMSR. Learn how NASA performs a SMSR, who is involved in the process and why it's important to the agency.

While national interest is focused on Moon 2024 and commercial crew testing, our duty of care to protect the public and our employees from terrestrial research hazards has not diminished. In the domain of radiation testing for spaceflight components, our Radiation Safety Officers work hard to provide “yes, if” controls to use radiation sources safely on a regular basis. Presented by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this is a success story of control over Cobalt-60 pellets used to impose a Total Ionizing Dose on Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical parts.

As many of you have heard me say, I believe that taking care of your people is essential to success. I’ve told the story that in the U.S. Marine Corps, all leaders are asked to do two things: accomplish the mission and take care of your people. Usually, this is followed with “If you do No. 2, your people will take care of No. 1.”

An important part of taking care of your people and accomplishing your mission, is ensuring, throughout your organization, people feel comfortable speaking up, without fear of reprisal. We have seen first-hand the effects fear of reprisal can have on a culture, as it was a theme for both the Challenger and Columbia mishaps, and we need to ensure that we’ve learned from our past and cultivate an environment where speaking up is not just accepted, but applauded. We also need to look at the ways we engage and include all members of the NASA family.

I encourage you to review all the data available in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and consider how you can enact positive change at every level in your organization to create an open, safe environment for everyone.

Astronaut Steve Bowen discusses Nondestructive Evaluation and material analysis for space and undersea.

This video provides an orientation to NASA-STD-8739.6, Implementation Requirements for NASA Workmanship Standards, including a recap on applicability, order of precedence and training centers.

In February 2016, the University of Hawaii had an incident where a highly reactive mix of pressurized gases within a high-pressure tank encountered a spark, likely from static electricity. As a result, the tank was blown apart, seriously injuring the researcher and causing significant equipment damage.

While this incident didn’t happen at NASA, we should ask, have we protected our pressure systems from similar risk? In this month’s Safety Message, Steve Lilley, senior safety engineer from the NASA Safety Center, briefs the recent System Failure Case Study on this incident, including how NASA can learn from this major mishap.