scope:

Purpose

This NASA Technical Standard establishes the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) requirements for any NASA system or component, flight or ground, where fracture control and a quantitative demonstration of probability of detection (POD) are required. This Standard defines the primary requirements for NDE in support of NASA-STD-5019A with Changes, Fracture Control Requirements for Spaceflight Hardware. NDE applied in-process for purposes of process control and NDE of damage-tolerant composites are not addressed in this Standard.

It is the policy of NASA to produce aerospace flight systems with a high degree of reliability and safety. This is accomplished through good design, manufacturing, test, and operational practices, including the judicious choice of materials, detailed analysis, appropriate factors of safety, rigorous testing and control of hardware, and reliable inspection. NASA fracture control requirements stipulate that all human-rated aerospace flight systems be subjected to fracture control procedures to preclude catastrophic failure. Those procedures frequently rely on NDE to ensure that the potential failure initiation of relevant crack-like flaws is not present in critical areas.

Programs that are not human-rated may choose to impose these requirements on a mission or hardware to increase the robustness of a structural design or to serve as a stepping-stone for human-rating.

Applicability

This Standard is applicable to the fracture control of metal components (e.g., aluminum, steel, titanium, and nickel alloys) for any NASA system or component, flight or ground, where fracture control is a requirement.

For additively manufactured (AM) components, refer to NASA-STD-6030, Additive Manufacturing Requirements for Spaceflight Systems.

The requirements described herein apply to fracture-critical hardware developed for NASA applications by NASA Field Centers, international partners, contractors, and outside organizations. NDE processes are required to meet the requirements in this Standard to screen hardware reliably for the presence of crack-like flaws.

This Standard is approved for use by NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers and Facilities, and applicable technical requirements may be cited in contract, program, and other Agency documents. This language 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.

References to "this Standard" refer to NASA-STD-5009C; references to other documents state the specific document information.

Verifiable requirement statements are designated by the acronym NER (Nondestructive Evaluation Requirement), numbered, and indicated by the word "shall." This Standard contains 74 requirements. To facilitate requirements selection by NASA programs and projects, a Requirements Identification Matrix is provided in Appendix A.

Explanatory or guidance text is indicated in italics beginning in section 4. The terms "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended but not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are/is" denotes descriptive material or a statement of fact.

Tailoring

Tailoring of the requirements in this Standard for application to a specific program or project is acceptable when formally approved by the delegated NASA Technical Authority in accordance with NPR 7120.5, NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management Requirements, and documented in program or project requirements.