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Ralph Roe, NASA special assistant to Langley Center Director Roy D. Bridges Jr. was at Dryden Sept. 19 to brief Center employees on the operations of the new NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) that Roe will head. The NESC is based at Langley Research Center but will be staffed by engineering talent from across the Agency.
NASA Photo / Tony Landis |
NASA launches new safety center
By Marny Skora
Langley Research Center
The investigation of the Columbia tragedy revealed the need for NASA to improve its ability to verify engineering and safety standards, to share technical information, practices, and talent and independently assess the ability to achieve mission success.
To meet these goals, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe in July announced the establishment of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). As chartered, the NESC will provide independent technical expertise to evaluate problems and supplement safety and engineering activities for Agency programs and projects.
Some say it's a tall order. But it can also be viewed as a stimulating "One NASA" opportunity.
"The NESC will draw on the engineering talents of the best minds across the Agency's 10 field centers," said Roy D. Bridges Jr., director of Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., who was appointed by O'Keefe to head the NESC's start-up and development.
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Roe, left, and Langley Research Center Director Roy D. Bridges Jr. will be central figures in the new NASA Engineering and Safety Center.
NASA Photo / Jeff Kaplan |
"Roy's experience as an aviator and shuttle pilot and his intimate knowledge of the intricate Shuttle system and other advanced aerospace systems make him the right person to lead this critical initiative," O'Keefe said.
The NESC will take policy direction from Bryan O'Connor, NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.
"In addition to NASA expertise, the NESC will also tap the nation's top experts in industry, Department of Defense, national laboratories and universities," O'Connor said. "We have a responsibility to make our programs as safe and reliable as we know how. The NESC enables us to more completely fulfill our commitments for assessing risk and making better risk acceptance decisions."
In accordance with its mandate, the NESC will provide centralized management of independent engineering assessment. NESC experts will use state-of-the-art tools and methods, and adequate funding will ensure independent assessments and trend analysis. Because NASA will fund the NESC at the corporate level, an unprecedented level of independence will exist.
The NESC will not, however, relieve program managers of their responsibility for safety, Bridges said. Instead, NESC initiatives will complement the engineering and safety efforts of programs and centers. The NESC's credibility and an independent chain of command will assure consideration of all viewpoints on complex technical issues.
The NESC will be based at Langley and will have a management office consisting of 30 to 40 full-time employees.
Another 30 to 50 senior engineering and safety experts will be based at the various NASA centers but assigned full-time to the NESC. This workforce will be supplemented through partnerships with external organizations.
Finally, O'Connor said, "ready-experts" at each center will play vital roles on the NESC team. From across the Agency, 150 to 200 experts in a variety of technical specialties will be called upon for peer review and critique of flight rationale, mission requirements, testing, trending, lessons learned and other issues.
Langley's Ralph Roe was chosen as Bridges' special assistant to develop the NESC's implementation plan.
"It's a tremendous responsibility but a stimulating opportunity," said Roe. "While the NESC is one of several initiatives in returning the Shuttle to safe flight, its broader objectives include strengthening and expanding the Agency's safety, mission assurance and engineering disciplines for major NASA programs. The NESC is a 'One NASA' effort that will involve all NASA facilities and the top technical experts in NASA and our partner institutions."
The NESC is currently seeking the Agency's best talent to be a part of this important NASA initiative. Employees interested in exploring the NESC as a potential career opportunity can get additional information about the program at http://nesc.nasa.gov.
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