Author Description

NASA's Constellation Program has made the most progress in a generation towards building an integrated human-rated spacecraft and launch vehicle. During that development, it became clear that NASA's human-rating requirements lacked the specificity necessary to defend a program plan, particularly human-rating test flight plans, from severe budget challenges. This paper addresses the progress Constellation achieved, problems encountered in clarifying and defending a human-rating certification plan, and discusses key considerations for those who find themselves in similar straits with future human-rated spacecraft and vehicles. We assert, and support with space flight data, that NASA's current human-rating requirements do not adequately address "unknown-unknowns", or the unexpected things the hardware can reveal to the designer during test. Noriega, Carlos and Arceneaux, William and Williams, Jeffrey A. and Rhatigan, Jennifer L. Johnson Space Center CERTIFICATION; CONSTELLATION PROGRAM; LAUNCH VEHICLES; MANNED SPACECRAFT; AEROSPACE SAFETY; FLIGHT SAFETY; REQUIREMENTS; SPACECRAFT DESIGN; PROJECT PLANNING; EVALUATION