Office of Commercial Space Transportation

Office of Commercial Space Transportation Human Spaceflight Guidelines Update COMSTAC, Systems WG Randy Repcheck May 14, 2013

Outline • COMSTAC Telecons • General • Topics Covered • Summary • Way Ahead HSF Guidelines Update

COMSTAC Telecons - General The FAA may not propose regulations covering occupant safety until October 2015. AST is planning to issue Draft Guidelines in 2013. In order to collect key insights from the industry, AST hosted eight one-hour telecons, each with a narrow focus on a specific technical topic. HSF Guidelines Update

COMSTAC Telecons– General (cont.) Typically 40 – 60 participants on line. After each meeting, we drafted minutes and published them on the AST website. The meeting minutes contain a list of attendees, the topic(s) discussed, and a summary of what was discussed. We also had a docket where members of the industry could post comments - Docket # FAA-2012-0818. HSF Guidelines Update

COMSTAC Telecons – Topics Covered • August 14, 2012 – Level of Safety • September 18, 2012 – FAA Oversight • October 23, 2012 – Types of Requirements • November 13, 2012 – Terms and Definitions • December 18, 2012 – Aborts and Abort Systems • January 15, 2013 – Fault Tolerance, Margin and Reliability • March 21, 2013 – Medical Best Practices for Crew & Space Flight Participants • April 16, 2013 – Communications and Commanding HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 1) What Level of Safety Should FAA Target? We discussed whether the FAA should regulate to one or multiple levels of space flight safety, what level or levels of safety the FAA should attempt to achieve, and whether the level or levels of safety should be quantified. We also wanted to know what level of care, short of a fatality, the FAA should be concerned with. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 2) What Would FAA Oversight Look Like? Aircraft-like certification is not feasible at this time, due to current technology and the FAA’s statutory mandate to only pursue minimal regulations that take into consideration the evolving standards of safety in the commercial space flight industry per 51 U.S.C. 50905(c)(3). We discussed what a licensing process should look like in terms of FAA oversight, whether such oversight could or should be called a “certification,” and for how long informed consent should remain in effect. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 3) What Types of Requirements and Associated Guidance Material Should FAA Develop? In general, the FAA favors space transportation regulations that are performance or process based. We discussed the level of empirical or analytical data necessary to justify any performance-based human space flight regulation, the possible use of Advisory Circulars to add clarity to regulations, and what place government and industry standards should have in FAA licensing. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 4) Key Terms and Definitions for Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety? • We worked to identify and define key terms and definitions relevant to commercial human spaceflight. • We discussed potential implications that might arise from ambiguous terms. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 5) Aborts and Abort Systems. • We worked to identify: • The applicability of abort systems as part of fault tolerance, • The applicable flight phases and designs it should apply to, and • The abort reliability and the level of care an occupant should expect during an abort. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 6) Fault Tolerance, Margin, and Reliability. • We discussed the best practices of applying fault tolerance, design margin, and reliability from a guidance perspective. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 7) Medical Best Practices for Crew and Space Flight Participants. • We discussed with the industry participants the medical best practices for occupant safety, including the physical capabilities needed to perform the tasks necessary to ensure occupant safety from a guidance perspective. HSF Guidelines Update

Topics Covered (cont.) 8) Communications and Commanding. • We discussed with the industry participants best practices for communications (voice, telemetry, and command) that would be appropriate for FAA guidelines. • Topics included communications with the ground, encryption, coverage during specific phases of flight, and intra-vehicle voice communication. HSF Guidelines Update

COMSTAC Telecons - Summary We hope you found them worthwhile. Hopefully the topics we covered and the questions we asked gave some insight into the kinds of issues we are facing in drafting guidelines. We could cover additional topics, but we want to focus on getting draft guidelines out. HSF Guidelines Update

Way Ahead • AST is planning to issue Draft Guidelines in 2013. • Will solicit input from COMSTAC • To include public meetings or telecons • Goal is to issue “Final” Guidelines in 2014 reflecting a consensus view of important safety measures for protecting occupants of commercial spacecraft. HSF Guidelines Update

Office of Commercial Space Transportation