Video Library

NASA projects are flying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) at an ever-growing rate to complete scientific research, assist other government agencies with emergency response and learn how to safely navigate the National Airspace System along with crewed aircraft. While many weigh just a few pounds, measure flight time in minutes and are limited to line-of-sight control, some weigh thousands of pounds, have international range and utilize satellite-link control. A wide range of potential issues exist.

What are the rules? Who helps researchers and operators understand and follow them? This month's message focuses on SMA requirements for UAS operations in a world of change.

Every year, thousands of children — about 50 a week in the U.S. — are harmed because drivers who were backing up did not see them. These incidents often take place in residential driveways or parking lots. Most of them involve large vehicles, like trucks, vans and SUVs. Most of them involve a parent or close loved one behind the wheel. Please take some time out of your day to reflect on these figures and what you can do to keep your own family and those around you safe.

This seven-elements approach systematically identifies weaknesses within a given "prove it's safe" argument for flight approval, allowing mitigation options to be discussed. Thus, those with the power to say "yes" to residual flight risk can better understand what is being accepted.

At 7:45 p.m. on April 20, 2010, four British Petroleum and Transocean VIP’s landed aboard Deepwater Horizon for a Management Visibility Tour. The agenda: to credit the crew for 7 years with no lost-time injuries, and to check workplace conditions for occupational hazards found recently on other rigs. Seven hours later, the worst oil rig blowout and offshore spill in U.S. history transpired. Had there been focus on process safety, in addition to Institutional Safety, the blowout may have been averted. 

The Safety and Mission Success Review (SMSR) video provides an introduction to the SMSR, which is a voice-recorded, predecisional briefing co-chaired by the NASA chief of Safety and Mission Assurance and the NASA chief engineer. The purpose of the SMSR is to independently assess the readiness to proceed with a NASA mission, both human and robotic, as well as test flights and demonstrations of commercially developed launch vehicles and spacecraft.

Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO), provides expert insight on the agency's meteoroid work in this series of Knowledge Bytes. Cooke explains what the Meteoroid Environments Office does, its responsibilities and the challenges that it faces.

Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO), provides expert insight on the agency's meteoroid work in this series of Knowledge Bytes. Cooke explains how meteor shower forecasting works and how it helps protect astronauts and spacecrafts.

Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO), provides expert insight on the agency's meteoroid work in this series of Knowledge Bytes. Cooke explains the background on the Chelyabinsk fireball that appeared over Russia in 2013 and how it demonstrated the danger of smaller meteorites.

Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO), provides expert insight on the agency's meteoroid work in this series of Knowledge Bytes. Cooke explains how the Leonid meteor showers of 1998-2002 led to the development of meteor shower forecasting.

Bill Cooke, lead of NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office (MEO), provides expert insight on the agency's meteoroid work in this series of Knowledge Bytes. Cooke tells the story of an astronaut on the International Space Station who photographed the Lyrid meteors.