NASA Technical Standards Program and Implications for Lessons Learnedand Technical Standard Integration

Paul Gill, NASA Technical Standards Program Office, Danny Garcia, NASA Technical Standards Program Office, and William W. Vaughan, University of Alabama in Huntsville

4/11/2008
(Original Publish Date: 10/19/2002)

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency consists of fourteen Facilities throughout the United States. They are organized to support the Agency’s principal Enterprises: (1) Space Science, (2) Earth Science, (3) Aerospace Technology, (4) Human Exploration and Development of Space, and (5) Biological and Physical Research. Technical Standards are important to the activities of each Enterprise and have been an integral part in the development and operation of NASA Programs and Projects since the Agency was established in 1959. However, for years each Center was responsible for its own standards development and selection of non-NASA technical standards that met the needs of Programs and Projects for which they were responsible. There were few “Agencywide” applicable Technical Standards, mainly those in area of safety. Department of Defense Standards and Specifications were the foundation and main source for Technical Standards used by the Agency. (Figure 1) This process existed until about 1997 when NASA embarked on a Program to convert NASA’s Center-developed Technical Standards into Agencywide endorsed NASA Preferred Technical Standards. In addition, action was taken regarding the formal adoption of non-NASA Technical Standards (DOD, SAE, ASTM, ASME, IEEE, etc.) as NASA Preferred Technical Standards.