ML25045A069
| ML25045A069 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/07/2025 |
| From: | Deloach W, John Tappert Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, US National Aeronautics & Space Admin (NASA) |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML25045A067 | List: |
| References | |
| Download: ML25045A069 (1) | |
Text
1 Memorandum of Understanding Between National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Safety and Mission Assurance and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research The intent of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) is to seek opportunities to pursue and implement collaborative activities related to safety, reliability, and risk analysis methods and applications.
Fundamental to this MOU is the understanding that NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES will define and execute their own focused programs incorporating, as appropriate, common activities covered by this MOU. The intent of this MOU is for the parties to seek opportunities to share relevant technical information, reliability data, and software technology generated by NASA and NRC programs.
I.
BACKGROUND NASA/OSMA is engaged in activities in the interest of safety and the success of all NASA programs and projects, including innovation and rapid transfer of Safety, Reliability, Maintainability, and Quality Assurance technologies, processes, and techniques to improve safety and reliability and to reduce the cost of space missions.
NRC/RES conducts independent research in all areas regulated by the NRC, including ongoing and potential safety issues, risk-informed and performance-based regulation, and operating experience analysis.
NASA and the NRC develop and apply safety and risk models in safety-related activities. Because these models are intended to support risk-informed decisions, both agencies must ensure that risk models are technically sound and robust and are applied appropriately to decision processes. Accordingly, NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES are motivated to develop advanced risk analysis techniques and tools to support risk-informed decision-making.
Although the safety-related activities of NASA and the NRC may be conducted for different purposes, the underlying data and the results obtained have common value to both agencies. In a 2004 meeting, the then NASA Administrator and NRC Chairman recognized the potential benefits in sharing pertinent information between agencies in support of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) and reliability analysis applications.
Accordingly, to conserve resources and to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, both NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES agree to seek opportunities to cooperate in selected activities and to share information related to such activities whenever such cooperation is appropriate and mutually beneficial.
2 Over the decades, many exchanges of information, training, data, and software were made under MOUs between NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES. Given the benefit to both organizations, NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES intend to continue their longstanding collaborative discussions, technical information exchanges, and activities in areas related to safety, reliability, and risk.
II.
OBJECTIVES The overall objective of this effort is to enable and expedite the development of risk and reliability analysis methods, tools, data, and applications as well as technical information that are useful to NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES and to avoid unnecessary duplication of tasks between organizations.
Provided below are potential areas of collaborative activities and specific objectives the parties intend to pursue:
A. Technical Areas. Both organizations are supporting a number of activities aimed at improving risk and reliability analysis methods and applications, along with related disciplines. Technical areas for collaboration may include:
Application of objectives-driven and case-assured approaches to safety.
Objectives-driven Risk Management.
Advanced risk and reliability analysis techniques, including consideration of natural external hazards.
New generation of safety, risk, and reliability software tools and data standards.
Digital instrumentation and control (I&C) system safety and reliability analysis (including hardware, software, and human interface considerations).
Reliability data collection and analysis.
Human performance and reliability data collection and analysis.
Safety culture.
Human factors considerations for safe and reliable operations of complex systems, including remote and autonomous operations.
Accident precursor analysis and applications.
Risk-informed decision-making techniques and applications.
Risk-informed audits and inspections.
Risk-informed performance management.
Uncertainty and safety margin analyses and applications.
Safety and risk-analysis applications and considerations in design processes.
Fire-risk analysis and application.
Risk-related knowledge management.
3 Advanced risk data analytics.
Cyber risk assessment methods.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.
Structural and equipment condition/health monitoring, including methods for data collection and analysis, physics of failure models, and materials degradation.
Reliability assessment associated with additive manufacturing / advanced manufacturing technologies.
B. Specific Objectives. The parties intend to pursue the following specific objectives:
- 1. Exchange information (e.g., objectives, milestones) on planned and ongoing activities.
- 2. Share safety, reliability, and human error data, tools, and analysis methods needed to support NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES programs and risk-informed applications.
- 3. Assess the capabilities of current and advanced risk and reliability analysis methods and tools.
- 4. Support enhancement of staff capabilities to perform risk and reliability analysis (e.g., training opportunities, staff rotations).
III.
POINTS OF CONTACT The designated points of contact for this MOU are:
Frank Groen Deputy Chief, Safety and Mission Assurance Office of Safety and Mission Assurance National Aeronautics and Space Administration Frank.J.Groen@nasa.gov Brian Smith Director, Division of Risk Analysis Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Brian.Smith@nrc.gov IV.
SCOPE This MOU may result in a variety of collaborative activities (including information exchange meetings, support of expert panels, establishment of an advisory group composed of government civil servants, and jointly sponsored activities) aimed at
4 achieving the preceding objectives from Article II above. The potential means for collaboration include:
A. Methods and Techniques for Risk-Analysis Applications. Participate in collaborative activities to develop practicable and technically sound methods and techniques for risk-analysis applications in the technical areas identified in Article II.
B. Programmatic Information Exchange. Exchange information concerning the objectives, milestones, and planned approaches in ongoing activities.
C. Technical Information Exchange. Facilitate the exchange of technical information between technical staff and project managers. This technical exchange is particularly important in cases where, to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES agree to a division of effort on the basis of complete exchange of results. It also includes support of working meetings between staff (on an agreed-upon as-needed basis).
D. Reviews. Provide independent reviews of the other agency's draft technical reports, policies, guidance, and plans, where appropriate. These reviews may be provided on an agreed-upon as-needed basis involving relevant topics of interest.
E. Advisory Group. NASA/OSMA and NRC/RES will establish an advisory group to provide advice and assistance in:
Fostering effective NASA/NRC collaboration in mutual activities, including coordination with other NASA and NRC organizational units outside of NRC/RES and NASA/OSMA as needed to support the objectives outlined in Article II.
Ensuring that activity planning is coordinated between the agencies, when appropriate.
Monitoring progress toward the objectives as described in Article II above and proposing adjustments in the organizations' activities, as appropriate.
Proposing changes to program goals and activities based on changing organizational requirements.
V.
MISCELLANEOUS This MOU is strictly for the management and planning purposes of each of the Parties.
This MOU does not support an obligation of funds, nor does it constitute a binding commitment upon either Party or create any legal rights or obligations for either Party.
Nothing in this MOU shall be interpreted as limiting, superseding, or otherwise