NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 1450.10D Effective Date: March 24, 2006 Expiration Date: March 24, 2026

Subject: NASA Correspondence Management and Communications Standards and Style Revalidated (6/21/2021)

Responsible Office: Office of the Chief of Staff

Chapter 6: Electronic Communications

6.1 General

6.1.1 For electronic communications, follow the tips from The Gregg Reference Manual (latest edition).

6.1.2 Keep e-mail messages as short as possible, ideally to one screen. Organize your sentences in short, single-spaced paragraphs.

6.1.3 One subject. Try to restrict each message to one subject. If you have several topics to cover, consider separate e-mails for each topic.

6.1.4 Do not use all capital letters in your messages. Follow the standard rules of capitalization.

6.2 Electronic Mail Communications

6.2.1 E-mail is an alternative communications tool to facilitate Government business. Attachments such as PDF-scanned, signed documents meet the definition of official correspondence and should be handled as such. If the cover e-mail contains information that should be managed as official correspondence, it should become part of the official record. Management procedures for handling electronic communications are defined in NPD 1440.6, and NPR 1441.1. More specific policy, procedures, and guidelines for identifying and managing electronic communications are being developed by NASA's Office of the Chief Information Officer.

6.2.2 Microsoft Outlook or Entourage are the electronic services (e-mail) used by NASA Headquarters. Each NASA Center has a postmaster who is responsible for the effective use of the e-mail system and for coordinating with the postmasters at the other NASA Centers.

6.2.3 Unclassified E-mail systems are not secure. Never use them to transmit classified information even if it is encrypted. However, sensitive, but unclassified, information may be sent by e-mail if it is encrypted.

6.2.4 Personalized signature blocks should reflect official business information; e.g., sender's name, title, organization, and telephone and fax numbers.

6.3 Facsimile (Fax)

6.3.1 Use facsimile transmissions to transmit time-critical, official business. Since faxing costs much more than ordinary mail services, fax only when necessary. After faxing, send the original correspondence for official record purposes. Fax classified information only from secure fax systems located at the Center?s Security Office and some communications centers. It is also possible to use these secure systems to fax sensitive but unclassified information.

6.3.2 Lead Sheet for Fax Transmission. Use a lead sheet as the first page of transmissions outside NASA. Show both the sending and receiving Center?s name in the "TO:" and "FROM:" lines. In addition to the names of the person(s) addressed and the telephone numbers, show both the sending and receiving fax numbers, voice numbers, and office mail codes (Centers) or suite numbers. Provide additional information concerning the message in the "TO:" section of the form. The office of primary responsibility for the transmission keeps the official file copy.

6.3.3 Page Size. Pages to be transmitted may be 8 1/2 by 11 inches to 8 1/2 by 16 1/2 inches.

6.3.4 Multiple Addressees. Fax machines are located in most NASA offices and are very efficient for sending time-critical information to one or more addressees. Every NASA Center has a Communications Center that has the capability of simultaneously sending documents to multiple addressees.

6.3.5 Approval. Transmissions of more than 50 pages may require the signature of a Branch Chief or higher level official and full justification in the body of the form.

6.4 Other Types Of Communications Services

6.4.1 Centers vary in their capabilities to provide additional types of electronic communications services. Each Center should make its users aware of these services which may include telex services.

6.4.1.1 Priority Letter. Laser-printed priority letters are delivered within 2 business days in the United States.

6.4.1.2 Telegram. Telegrams are delivered by telephone or printed copy in a few hours to any location within the Continental United States and to Canada.

6.4.1.3 Cablegram. Cablegrams are delivered overnight by printed copy to Hawaii and overseas locations. Send a cablegram to communicate with someone overseas who does not have a fax or telex.

6.4.1.4 Mailgram. Mailgrams are overnight letters you can send to anyone in the Continental United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada and are delivered with the next day?s mail.

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