Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Published in:
30 Years of Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines in Europe Read chapter Read first chapter

2015 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Space Safety is no Accident how the Aerospace Corporation Promotes Space Safety

Authors : William F. Tosney, Paul G. Cheng

Published in: Space Safety is No Accident

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) conducts extensive space safety activities as a part of its overall mission assurance responsibilities. This paper spotlights safety insights gleaned by Aerospace from past space mishaps. It also explains how Aerospace conducts cross-program analysis, extracts lessons, codifies best practices, and shares its broad knowledge base across the space community.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
previous chapter Legal Regime of Radio Frequency Interference
next chapter Bridging the GAP: Science and Policy for the Safety of Space Environments Against Contamination – The Planetary Protection Index
Footnotes
1
The Orion mishap occurred because a technician set the rocket off during continuity test. The hand-held test meter contained a voltage-reduction module to reduce its output current to a trickle to prevent inadvertent ignition of the pyros, but someone left out the module during battery installation. Clearly, squibs should be designed to allow tests with “arming” and “firing” inhibits in place, via the pyrobox’s test ports, instead of directly across the bridgewire.
 
2
MIL-HDBK-83578, Criteria for Explosive Systems and Devices Used on Space Vehicles, requires all ESD sensitive components to be shielded or otherwise protected from ESD, and stipulates the use of safe-arm device. Part 6 of ECSS-E-30, Pyrotechnics, has similar instructions.
 
3
The thermal tape on the connector plug housing should leave enough clearance so the harness can disengage. Assembly instructions stated that the tape shall be applied within 0.5 inches of the mounting bracket flange (instead of, for example, “no closer than 0.5 inches and no farther than 1.0 inch”). Unaware that the parts had to unfasten and thinking that they should wrap the tapes as tightly as possible, the technicians applied the tapes so close to the flange that the separator jammed.
 
4
The Mars Climate Orbiter’s ground control software reused a thruster model that contained a conversion factor to fit the vendor’s inputs (based on lb-force-sec) into the model (specified in Newton-sec). The factor was inadvertently deleted when the model was updated. The probe thus flew too close to Mars and burned up. The Mars Polar Lander had a requirement consisting of three subordinate requirements, two of which correctly flowed down to the software specification, but the third one was overlooked. The lander crashed as a result.
 
Literature
1.
NASA (1986), Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, June 1986.
2.
NASA (2003), Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, August 2003.
3.
New York Times (2003), “Echoes of Challenger: Shuttle Panel Considers Longstanding Flaws in NASA's System,” April 13, 2003
4.
Buzzatto, J. L. (2006), “Remembering Past Lessons to Ensure Future Mission Success,” Proceedings of the 24th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference.
5.
Li, Y. (1988), “Review of EMC Practice for Launch Vehicle Systems,” Proceedings of the 1988 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility.
6.
Casey, S. (1998), “Disaster By Design,” HQL Conference, 1998.
7.
Brazilian Aeronautics and Space Institute/Aerospace Technical Center (2004), “VLS-1 V03 Accident Investigation.”
8.
McDevitt, J. A., and Smith, C. A. (1998), “A System Safety Success: The Midcourse Space Experiment.” Hazard Prevention, Q4 1998.
9.
Johnson, R. F., and Tomei, E. (2006), “Launch Readiness Verification on the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program,” High Frontiers, Volume 3, Number 1, 16–20.
10.
Goodman W. H., Ganz K., Helgevold, D. P., and Adams, M. J., (1997), “Pedigree Review for Space Systems,” Proceedings of the 33rd Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit.
11.
Englehart, W. C. (2006), “Space Vehicle Systems Engineering Handbook,” Aerospace Report TOR-2006(8506)-4494, available to U.S. Government agencies and contractors from the library of The Aerospace Corporation, (310) 336-5110.
12.
13.
Weaver, M. A., and Ailor W. H. (2012), “Reentry Breakup Recorder: Concept, Testing, Moving Forward,” Proceedings of the AIAA Space 2012 Conference.
14.
Euler, E, Jolly, S., and Curtis, H. (2001), “The Failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander—A Perspective from the People Involved,” Proceedings of the 2001 AAS Guidance and Control Conference.
15.
Cheng, P. G., and Smith, P. L. (2007), “Learning from Other People’s Mistakes,” Crosslink, Fall, 2007, 20–24.
16.
Binkley, J. F., Cheng, P. G., Smith, P. L., and Tosney, W. F. (2005), “From Data Collection to Lessons Learned: Space Failure Information Exploitation at The Aerospace Corporation,” Proceedings of the First International Forum on Integrated System Health Engineering and Management in Aerospace.
17.
18.
Air Force Space Command Space and Missile Systems Center (2014), “Standard Test Requirements For Launch, Upper-Stage And Space Vehicles,” SMC-S-016, 2014.
19.
Shaw, B. E. (2013), Space and Missile Systems Center Compliance Specifications and Standards, Aerospace Report TOR-2013(8960)-3, available to the public from the library of The Aerospace Corporation, (310) 336-5110.
20.
Metadata
Title
Space Safety is no Accident how the Aerospace Corporation Promotes Space Safety
Authors
William F. Tosney
Paul G. Cheng
Copyright Year
2015
Book
Space Safety is No Accident

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15981-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-15982-9

Copyright Year: 2015

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15982-9_11

Premium Partner

    Image Credits