The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP),
an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress, has issued its
annual report examining NASA's safety performance in 2015 and highlighting
accomplishments, issues and concerns to agency and government
officials.
The report, released Wednesday, is based on
the panel's 2015 fact-finding and quarterly public meetings;
"insight" visits and meetings; direct observations of NASA
operations and decision-making processes; discussions with NASA management,
employees and contractors; and the panel members' own experience.
“The panel continues to steadfastly believe
competition between Boeing and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation
(SpaceX) is essential to achieving a safe and productive commercial crew
program. The Orbital-3, SpaceX CRS-7, and Russian Soyuz/Progress 59 cargo
accidents underscore this position,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Joseph W.
Dyer, ASAP chairman. “The three cargo accidents, and resulting loss of
resupply missions, yielded a challenging year for the International Space
Station (ISS), but NASA’s planning and logistics stewardship of the ISS minimized
impact and allowed for continued operations.”
Highlights of the 2015 report
include:
·
constancy
of purpose
·
commercial
cargo and crew to transport low-Earth orbit
·
Exploration
Systems Development
·
International
Space Station operations
·
other
NASA accomplishments
Congress established the panel in 1968 to
provide advice and make recommendations to the NASA administrator on safety
matters after the 1967 Apollo 1 fire that claimed the lives of three American
astronauts.
For more information about the Aerospace
Safety Advisory Panel, and to view the 2015 report, visit:
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