NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 8715.26 Effective Date: February 03, 2022 Expiration Date: February 03, 2027

Subject: Nuclear Flight Safety

Responsible Office: Office of Safety and Mission Assurance

Preface

P.1 Purpose

a. This directive defines the roles and responsibilities for managing and overseeing NASA’s nuclear flight safety activities. It provides the requirements to implement NASA’s policy to protect the public, NASA workforce, high-value equipment and property, and the environment from potential harm as a result of NASA activities and operations, by factoring safety as an integral feature of programs, projects, technologies, operations, and facilities.

b. This directive also describes NASA’s implementation of Federal requirements under National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM)-20, “Presidential Memorandum on Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems,” dated August 20, 2019, radiological contingency planning (RCP) as a part of broader NASA emergency management activities (see NPD 8710.1 and NPR 8715.2) and other factors, as well as agency-specific activities relating to ensuring safety and mission success for NASA-sponsored payloads containing space nuclear systems (SNS) or other radioactive material (note that these terms are defined in Appendix A).

c. This directive establishes a framework where other requirements, guidance, and processes (e.g., Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear safety and security requirements, U.S. Air and Space Force range safety requirements, NASA payload safety processes) relevant to nuclear flight safety can be implemented in to the overall Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) process.

P.2 Applicability

a. This directive is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers. This directive applies to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (a Federally-Funded Research and Development Center), other contractors, recipients of grants, cooperative agreements, or other agreements only to the extent specified or referenced in the applicable contracts, grants, or agreements.

b. This directive is applicable to activities involving flight of SNS or other radioactive material for which NASA is the sponsoring agency or that involve the use of NASA personnel and assets for phases of a flight where the SNS or other radioactive material has the potential to affect Earth’s biosphere. In some cases, aspects of the NASA nuclear flight safety program may fall under the auspices of another Federal agency, such as in the case of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-issued license for the launch of NASA-provided radioactive material. If applicability of this directive is not clear, NASA personnel will consult with the Nuclear Flight Safety Officer (NFSO) and the Office of the General Counsel to confirm responsibilities for nuclear flight safety.

c. This directive considers nuclear safety and radiological risk from both normal and off-normal conditions during all phases of flight for which the SNS or other radioactive material has the potential to affect Earth’s biosphere, typically starting with installation of the SNS or other radioactive material into an integrated launch vehicle on Earth. Matters outside of this scope are generally addressed by other NASA disciplines (e.g., planetary protection, crew safety).

d. This directive does not address procedures, requirements, or licensing details for using, storing, shipping, or handling radioactive materials in ground processing facilities or activities, nor does it cover these activities as they relate to preparation of the actual radioactive material for space use. For additional information on these matters, see NPR 1800.1, NASA Occupational Health Program Procedures, Center-specific Radiation Protection Program requirements and procedures, and relevant documents from the licensing or authorizing agency.

e. This directive does not serve to meet National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, does not serve to govern the level of NEPA analysis required for a mission, and does not serve to govern if there is sufficient safety data to make NEPA determinations. For additional information on NEPA matters, see NPR 8580.1, Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 12114.

f. In this directive, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term “shall.” The term “may” denotes a discretionary privilege or permission, “can” denotes statements of possibility or capability, “should” denotes a good practice and is recommended, but not required, “will” denotes expected outcome, and “are/is” denotes descriptive material.

g. Where conflicts exist between provisions of this directive and Federal statutes or regulations (e.g., provisions of the Atomic Energy Act), or higher-level NASA directives, those statutes, regulations, and higher-level NASA directives take precedence.

h. In this directive, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted. Use of more recent versions of cited documents may be authorized by the responsible SMA Technical Authority (TA).

i. Some documents listed as an authority document or reference are called out as either a reference or authority in the citations found within the text.

P.3 Authority

P.4 Applicable Documents and Forms

P.5 Measurement/Verification

P.6 Cancellation

DISTRIBUTION:
NODIS

This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.