OFFICE OF SAFETY AND MISSION ASSURANCE (Code Q) Associate Administrator: Frederick D. Gregory Public Affairs Contact: Dwayne Brown (202/358-1600) NASA is committed to providing leadership in quality management of science and engineering programs. Safety and Mission Assurance is responsible for the development and implementation of risk management practices and Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance practices for all NASA activities. The FY 1997 budget request for Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality is $36.7 million. The key role is to ensure the safe and successful execution of NASA programs by: - providing oversight and independent assessment of NASA's flight and ground systems development and operations programs; - developing and promulgating necessary NASA-wide safety, reliability, maintainability, quality assurance (SRM&QA), and risk management policies, standards, and practices; - providing for the identification, development, application, and qualification of key technologies to improve the safety, performance, and reliability of NASA programs. Provides leadership in promoting and ensuring the safety, innovation, and quality of all NASA programs. This work is performed in three programmatic areas: Policy, Oversight, and Standards; Quality Management; and Software Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V); - the Chief Engineer provides a focus for NASA's engineering function through oversight of practices and improvement capabilities. Policy, Oversight, and Standards $14.7 million The FY 1997 budget request supports analysis and formulation of NASA safety and mission assurance policy and guidelines, safety oversight, and flight readiness assessments for NASA programs. Oversight for NASA's planned Space Shuttle flights will be conducted. The independent assessment of the International Space Station will continue to evaluate the program's technical health and capability to safely achieve its program objectives. A standard for the handling, storage, and use of liquid hydrogen and a safety process for Expendable Launch Vehicle payloads will be published. Significant lessons learned and reliability and test best practices will be collected and distributed throughout NASA. Risk management and assessment techniques will be developed, refined, and applied. Reliability-centered maintenance techniques and processes, an orbital debris hazard and risk mitigation process, and hydrogen fire detection and smoke movement modeling for high bays will be established. NASA, government, and private sector education and training courses will be identified and integrated into NASA's SRM&QA training and professional development curriculum. Advanced quality concepts will allow routine use of private sector best practices, principles, and metrics to achieve comparable or improved safety, reliability, and quality at less cost. ISO 9000 will be fully integrated as NASA's baseline for quality management systems. In FY 1995, seven Space Shuttle missions were supported, including the historic Space Shuttle/Mir rendezvous and docking missions. Thirty-three formal independent assessments of the International Space Station (ISS) program resulted in improvements in end-of-life disposal, microgravity reliability, integrated test and verification planning, and configuration and risk management processes. SRM&QA policies, standards, and guidelines were developed and/or revised, increasing safety and quality in such areas as management of major system programs and projects, risk assessment and management, operational safety for wind tunnels, fire protection in high bay areas, payload safety, and software safety. Risk mitigation and reduction procedures for orbital debris were researched. An international agreement with Japan was developed to explore explosives characteristics for hydrogen and oxygen propellants. The implementation of ISO 9000 as NASA's standard for quality management systems and the inauguration of the NASA Engineering and Quality Audit (NEQA) and Advance Quality Concepts programs established the framework to improve the way NASA does business with its industry partners. OSMA continued its leadership of the Government Industry Quality Liaison Panel (GIQLP). Estimates indicate that approximately $1.5 billion will be saved through the panel's initiatives. In December 1995, the GIQLP was awarded the National Performance Review "Silver Hammer" Award. Quality Management $9.7 million The FY 1997 budget request supports the introduction of tailored safety, reliability, and quality requirements into space flight systems design and manufacture in the early stages of a program. The Quality Management program will provide direct assurance support to NASA robotics, aeronautics, spacecraft, and expendable launch vehicle programs. Mission assurance support for New Millennium, High Speed Civil Transport, and Advanced Subsonics will continue. Processes will be initiated to develop appropriate SRM&QA requirements tailored to cost, schedule, and risk. Emphasis will be placed on test effectiveness and correlating SRM&QA requirements with flight performance to provide real- time evaluation and feedback to programs. Effective test programs will be conducted, incorporating test histories, flight performance, and flight results. Advanced EEE parts and packaging techniques will be employed to develop qualification and test methods for fiber optics, micro- electromechanical systems, micro actuators, and sensors that determine quality and reliability issues. The space radiation effects program will determine microelectronic parts radiation tolerance. In FY 1995, emphasis was placed on the integration of up- front mission assurance guidance and practices into NASA's aeronautics and New Millennium space flight programs. New SRM&QA tools, such as the hand-held fire detection cameras and the Spacecraft Test Effectiveness Program, and improved EEE parts qualification set the stage for further reduced costs with improved safety and reliability in NASA's flight vehicles and payloads. The OSMA conducted nine Center functional self-assessment reviews, seven independent spot checks and staff reviews at the NASA Centers; and an operational safety review of NASA Headquarters as part of the NASA-wide SRM&QA performance assessment process. Software Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) $6.8 million The FY 1997 budget request supports IV&V on critical systems. The Software IV&V activity will be transitioned to a larger software validation role for the Agency in order to assure flight, ground control, and robotics system software. Research initiatives in verification and validation techniques, tools, and training development will be conducted. Verification and validation best practices will be identified and applied to mission critical software projects. FY 1995 accomplishments included a comprehensive assessment of software for ISS Interim Design Review, software assessments for Space Shuttle flights and wind tunnel control systems, and the evaluation of EOSDIS IV&V tools for use in software validation for ISS. The ISS software independent verification and validation found and helped the program correct several critical flight software issues ranging from requirements to integrated scheduling. Engineering $5.5 million This program provides engineering oversight to the Administrator through independent evaluation of engineering technical and policy issues; identification and resolution of engineering issues is coordinated through the NASA Engineering Management Council. The Office of Chief Engineer is responsible for development of NASA engineering standards and guidelines, and promotes increased use of industry, national, and international standards to enhance the inter- operability and reduce the cost of aerospace systems. Initiatives to improve engineering practices in systems engineering, structural analysis, and test methods will increase the reliability and effectiveness of NASA programs. Validation of critical technologies, such as space batteries, focuses on demonstrating potential for improved performance and reliability of aerospace systems. March 1996