NASA Advisory Panel Releases 2015 Safety Report

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Jan 13, 2016, 05:05 ET

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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: http://oiir.hq.nasa.gov/asap/index.html

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SOURCE NASA