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Federal AviationAdministrationCommercial Space

Transportation

Human Space FlightOccupant Safety Telecon

Telecon #4 – Terms & DefinitionsNovember 13th, 2012

Office of Commercial Space Transportation Federal AviationAdministration 2

Agenda

• Introduction• Rules of Engagement• Next Steps• Last Month’s Topic• Today’s Topic• Wrap-up


IntroductionThe FAA may not propose regulations covering occupant safety until October 2015.

However, we have a team of folks thinking about it now to be prepared, and we're wrestling with a lot of questions that we'd like input from technical folks from industry and government to help us.

We are hosting a series of one-hour telecons, each with a narrow focus on a specific technical topic to be held about once a month. We are using our industry advisory committee, COMSTAC, to help us.

We are not soliciting any proposals for agency support on this topic at this time. This is background research.


Rules of Engagement1. When speaking, please identify yourself so we can follow up with you if we have more questions.

2. We are recording this teleconference. We will publish minutes that summarize the discussion.

3. Please limit your time to 5 minutes of time to allow for greater participation. You are welcome to follow up with a phone call or email to Pam Melroy at [email protected] or 202-267-7793.

4. AST is not currently in rulemaking, or proposing rules. We are soliciting industry input as research. Should we consider rulemaking in the future, we may use these inputs for background information. If we ask clarifying questions, please do not consider this to imply agreement, or lack of agreement, with your statements.


Next Steps

• After today’s meeting, we will take some time to put together minutes and publish them on the AST website.

• The minutes will contain a list of attendees, the topic(s) discussed, and a summary of what was discussed.

• We look forward to you participating in the next conference call on December 18th at 1 pm Eastern.


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 will discuss 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.

Last Month’s Topic (Oct 2012)


Today’s TopicKey Terms and Definitions for Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety

We are working to identify and define key terms and definitions relevant to commercial human spaceflight regulations. To facilitate this process, we would like to solicit input from the various parties who have a vested interest in the industry and discuss potential implications that might arise from ambiguous interpretation of regulatory expectations.


Objectives

Goal of the meeting is to elicit perspectives from the industry on specific key terms and definitions regarding human spaceflight safety, specifically those that pertain to ensuring safe return to Earth.

1)Discuss potential implications of ‘ambiguous’ or ‘conflicting’ definitions (with regulatory impact) from different stakeholder perspectives2)Gather feedback on suggested key terms and current working definitions


Stakeholders Implications

Regulators Terms define the boundaries for regulatory requirements.

Operators Design to required specifications.

Customers Have certain expectations for purchased trip.

Insurers Need to know when insurance clauses take effect and what contractual obligations must be met for all parties involved.

Stakeholders / Implications


Potential for Stakeholder Conflict

• Early termination of a flight can occur at any phase of flight for off-nominal events that warrant return to Earth sooner than originally planned. Conflict might arise between stakeholders based on a lack of clarity of definitions, for example:

• Are specific regulations needed for different scenarios?• When have contractual obligations been fulfilled?• When are passenger expectations met?• When might an insurance claim be warranted?

• When is an abort not an abort?


‘Earth Return’ Alternatives by Phase of Flight


Partial List of Key Terms for Discussion

• Abort

• Emergency• Contingency• Early Flight Return

• Emergency landing site• Alternate landing site• Nominal/Primary landing site


Abort: DefinitionsAbort The forced early return of the crew when failures or the existence of

uncontrolled catastrophic hazards prevent continuation of the mission profile and a return is required for crew survival. The crew is safely returned to a landing site in the space system nominally used for entry and landing/touchdown.

NASA CCT-REQ-1130

Abort Early termination of the mission or mission phase prior to reaching the mission destination or objective, due to a failure or other condition that does or could endanger the flight crew or the spacecraft.

NASA CCT-STD-1150

Abort To terminate a preplanned aircraft maneuver; e.g., an aborted takeoff.

Pilot Glossary

Contingency Abort

Cessation of vehicle flight during ascent or descent in a manner that does not jeopardize public health and safety and the safety of property, in accordance with mission rules and procedures. Contingency abort includes landing at an alternative location that has been designated as a contingency abort location in advance of vehicle flight.

14 CFR, 401.5

Emergency Abort

Cessation of vehicle flight during ascent or descent in a manner that minimizes risk to public health and safety and the safety of property. Emergency abort involves failure of a vehicle, safety-critical system, or flight safety system such that contingency abort is not possible.

14 CFR, 401.5


Abort: Considerations

Regulatory implications for ‘abort’ during different flight phases?-Failure to reach desired destination-Early return from desired destination-Off-nominal reentry/landing operations-Emergency landing site acceptability-Potential for crew and passengers abandoning a vehicle-Uninvolved public concerns


Emergency: DefinitionsEmergency An unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that requires

immediate action to address a hazard to the occupants. (Note: not all contingencies are emergencies)

Working Definition

Emergency An unexpected event or events during a mission that requires immediate action to keep the crew alive or serious injury from occurring.

NASA CCT-STD-1140 (4/29/11)

Emergency A sudden, generally unexpected occurrence, situation, or event that if unabated may cause injury, loss of life, or damage to flight hardware and that demands an immediate response.

NASA CCT-STD-1150

Emergency Unintended circumstance bearing clear and present danger to personnel or property which requires an immediate response.

NASA NPR-8715.3C

Emergency (emergency management application)

A hazard impact causing adverse physical, social, psychological, economic or political effects that challenges the ability to rapidly & effectively respond. It requires a stepped up capacity and capability (call-back procedures, mutual aid, etc.) to meet the expected outcome, and commonly requires change from routine management methods to an incident command/management process in order to achieve the expected outcome.

GWU 2007 Emergency Management Terms

Emergency A distress or an urgency condition. Pilot Glossary

Distress A condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and of requiring immediate assistance.

Pilot Glossary

Urgency A condition concerning the safety of an aircraft or other vehicle, or of person on board or in sight, but which does not require immediate assistance.

Pilot Glossary


Emergency: Considerations

Types of Emergencies?-Medical Emergency (crew member)-Vehicle/Hardware Emergency-Environmental Emergency (surrounding environment)

Responses to Emergencies?-Speed of response-Type of aid available


Contingency: Definitions

Contingency A situation that occurs beyond planned fault tolerance or reliability; for example, if single fault tolerant, after a second failure of a critical system. (Note: this is very much about the vehicle).

Working Definition

Contingency Provisioning for an event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.

NASA CCT-STD-1140 (4/29/11)

Contingency Provisioning for an event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.

NASA CCT-REQ-1130

Contingency Provisioning for an uncertified event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.

NASA CCT-REQ-1150

Contingency A future event that is likely but not certain to happen. The consequences of the occurrence are such that one must address the likelihood of occurrence and the projected impact if it occurs.

GWU 2007 Emergency Management Terms

Contingency A situation requiring military operations in response to natural disasters, terrorists, subversives, or as otherwise directed by appropriate authority to protect US interests.

DoD Terms

Contingency A future event that is likely but not certain to happen. The consequences of the occurrence are such that one must prepare for the event.

VHA Handbook


Contingency: Considerations

What are responses required for a contingency versus an emergency?

What type of contingency plans must be made?


Early Flight Return: Definitions

Early Flight Return

Flight termination; deletion of planned activities in order to expeditiously return to a planned or alternate landing site. (Note: Assumed condition after failures lead to zero fault tolerance to a critical hazard.)

Working Definition

End of Mission The planned landing time for the entire mission including the nominal pre-flight agreed to docked mission duration.

NASA CCT-STD-1140 (4/29/11)


Early Flight Return: Considerations

How much earlier does it need to be considered ‘early’? Hours, days?

Depends on type of flight (orbital or suborbital)?

Depends on circumstance (emergency, abort, ahead of schedule etc.)


Landing Site: DefinitionsLanding Site (Supported)

Designated Nominal Landing Site – A fully supported U.S. State department approved CONUS site with recovery forces on site. Crew extraction is within 1 hour. Return is within 2 hours. Medical Evacuation is available. NASA personnel are on hand. Baseline Data Collection begins immediately. Cargo Extraction begins upon completion of Crew Extraction Prepared Alternate Landing Site – A supported U.S. State department approved site (not necessarily CONUS) with rescue forces readily available (potentially on standby). Crew extraction is within 1 hour. Medical Evacuation is available. NASA personnel are not likely available. Baseline Data Collection is not required immediately. Return in 2 hours is not required. Cargo Extraction begins upon completion of Crew Extraction.

NASA CCT-REQ-1130

Landing Site (Prepared Alternate)

A supported U.S. State department approved site (not necessarily CONUS) with rescue forces readily available (potentially on standby). Crew extraction is within 1 hour. Medical Evacuation is available. NASA personnel are not likely available. Baseline Data Collection is not required immediately. Return in 2 hours is not required. Cargo Extraction begins upon completion of Crew Extraction.

NASA CCT-REQ-1130

Landing Site (Unsupported)

Emergency Landing – Any unsupported site arrived at due to critical failures that force immediate return and preclude landing at a primary or prepared alternate landing site. Depending on the case (ascent abort or emergency return), the recovery requirements are different. All survival requirements/scenarios are applicable. 8 hour rescue for an ascent abort and 24 hour rescue for emergency de-orbit are required. 2 hour return, Baseline Data Collection, and quick medical evacuation are not required.

NASA CCT-REQ-1130


Landing Site: Considerations

Types of Landing Site?Alternate SiteEmergency SiteSupportedUnsupportedPrepared Alternate

Difference of Landing Site Types? Qualification?Type of services available (communications, emergency systems, evacuation systems, etc)Number of personnel availableSpeed of services


Terms and Definitions Task

• Comprehensive database of terms being identified and definitions compiled from various sources as part of an FAA COE CST project per Human Rating Task 184• PI, Prof David Klaus, University of Colorado Boulder

• Currently under review for comment by COE affiliates• COMSTAC members welcome to participate

• For more information, contact Christine Fanchiang, CU Aerospace Engineering Sciences PhD student ([email protected])


References

NASA CCT-REQ-1130 ISS Crew Transportation and Services Requirements Document

NASA CCT-STD-1140 Crew Transportation Technical Standards and Design Evaluation CriteriaSummary of expectations and criteria used in the evaluation of technical standards.

NASA CCT-STD-1150 Crew Transportation Operation StandardsSummary of expectations for minimum criteria and practices for operations.

NASA NPR-8715.3C NASA General Safety Program Requirements

14 CFR, Chapter III United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14

GWU Emergency Management Terms

ICDRM/GWO Emergency Management Glossary of Terms (Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management). The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Pilot Glossary Pilot/Controller Glossary. FAA Air Traffic Plans and Publications.

DoD Terms Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. Joint Publications 1-02

VHA Handbook Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management Program Procedures. VHA Handbook 0320.2. Department of Veterans Affairs


Wrap-up• Thanks to everyone for participating! You can

post comments, questions, etc. to Docket FAA-2012-0818.

• If anyone has any new topics or suggestions on improving this discussion process, contact:

[email protected]

• We look forward to you participating in the next conference call on December 18th. The topic will be “Abort Systems”.


December 2012 Topic

Abort Systems•Abort systems have in the past been an element of many government human spaceflight systems for the purpose of enhancing occupant safety. We will discuss the following questions from a regulatory perspective:

• Is an abort system a part of fault tolerance?• Does an abort only apply to the launch/ascent phase, or does it

apply to other flight phases as well?• Should certain types of orbital or suborbital vehicle designs

require a launch abort system?• What should the reliability requirements be for an abort

system?• Should it be acceptable to have a different level of care during

an abort?

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