scope:

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to establish common design and development requirements across National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Centers for the design of aerospace mechanisms whose correct operation is required for safety or program success. Collecting the requirements in a NASA standard allows each NASA program to rely upon an established set of practices that have proved heritage and that have been developed from lessons learned across a spectrum of design applications. This standard is designed to be applied to flight mechanisms that are designed, built, or acquired by or for NASA, though it may also serve as a useful guidance document for other systems such as ground support equipment (GSE). This document addresses technical functional requirements only and specifically does not address human factors requirements.

Applicability

This standard may be cited in contract, program, and other Agency documents as a technical requirement. When this standard is applied, individual provisions of this standard may be tailored (i.e., modified or deleted) by contract or program specifications to meet specific program/project needs and constraints. When requirements are noted as mandatory (indicated by use of the word "shall"), tailoring shall be formally documented and approved as part of program/project requirements.

Adherence to this standard in and of itself does not exempt a mechanism from any safety, fault-tolerance, or hazard control requirements. Any such reduction in requirements must be established and approved at the program's inception by the appropriate technical authority of the program invoking this standard.