On August 27, 2014, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a document entitled “Recommended Practices for Human Space Flight Occupant Safety.” This paper discusses the approach the FAA used to develop the Recommended Practices document, the document’s scope and organization, some key concepts in the document, and some notable omissions. Lastly, the paper will discuss next steps.
Two examples of topics not covered by NASA’s requirements are space flight participant training, and any aspects of occupant safety unique to suborbital flight.
Any space transportation system that complies with NASA commercial crew requirements would likely be consistent with the recommended safety practices in the AST document. NASA commercial crew requirements are much more exhaustive, and address mission assurance and other mission needs in addition to occupant safety. NASA also addresses verification and incorporates a number of government and industry standards that AST has yet to address.
