Welcome to the Goddard Space Flight Center Technical Standards Web Site. This Web Site is sponsored by the GSFC Engineering Standards Steering Council representatives. Its purpose is to provide you with background and information on the overall Technical Standards efforts at GSFC. GSFC efforts are currently organized into three high level categories - Data Standards, Engineering Standards, and Workmanship Standards. This site reflects GSFC's support of the NASA Technical Standards Program in these areas.

GSFC Standards Coordination

GSFC has put in place a process to coordinate standards activities at GSFC. All people supporting standards continue their activities in their current organizations. The coordination process is overseen by the GSFC Technical Standards Coordinator (GTSC).

The GTSC is designated by the Center Director and resides in the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate. The GTSC acts as the Assistant Director for Standards Excellence. The GTSC is the Standards Coordinator and Point of Contact for the GSFC Technical Standards Program. The GTSC also serves as the GSFC representative to the NASA Technical Standards Working Group. He chairs the Technical Standard Standards Review Board (SRB) and the Data Standard SRB.

The Goddard Standards Working Group

The GTSC chairs the GSFC Standards Coordination Working Group (SCWG) which meets frequently to share information across organizations and to plan the future activities and support to the Agency. The SCWG is anticipated to have the following impacts:

• Build cooperation among GSFC organizations regarding standards,
• Leverage efforts by individuals working with Voluntary Consensus Standards (VCS) organizations and committees,
• Improve tools and standards information resources available to GSFC.
• Link technology and standards activities,
• Review standards from external and internal sources,
• Coordinate standards activities with customers,
• Improve coordination and distribution of the standards budgets, and
• Help the agency achive commonality among standards used.

The Data Systems Standards Manager, the Engineering Standards Manager, and the Workmanship Standards Manager are active members of the SCWG. In addition, all the GSFC personnel involved in any way with standards are also members of the SCWG.

The Standards Review Board

The Standards Review Board (SRB) is a formal group that acts as a Configuration Control Board to review, approve or disapprove the standards that come to GSFC from external or internal sources. The SRB members, representing their Directorate, will receive copies of the standards and will coordinate the review within their directorate. At the SRB meeting any comments raised during the review process will be addressed. The SRB will then create a formal GSFC response regarding each standard reviewed.

The NASA Technical Standards Program

The NASA Technical Standards Program is planned to consolidate the best practices, available standards, and specifications, regardless of their origins (NASA Centers, Department of Defense, industry, or other). The basic intent of the program is to encourage NASA and its suppliers to use Voluntary Consensus Standards to avoid having multiple forms of similar requirements where one is sufficient, thus enhancing their ability to work as a team with agreed upon requirements.

In September 1995, the NASA Chief Engineer assigned Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as the lead center in consolidating agency-wide standards-related efforts. This includes expanding the scope of these activities, as well as developing an agency-endorsed database of Preferred Technical Standards for NASA. The "preferred" standards include standards developed by NASA and those adopted for use on NASA programs. Adopted standards are standards developed by other government, national, and international organizations. The primary emphasis is placed on the use of "preferred" standards which have been selected through the NASA Engineering Standards Steering Council based on a consensus of the NASA Centers. The term "technical standard" includes practices, specifications, standards, handbooks, and guidelines, codes, and regulations.