SUBORBITAL SAFETY TECHNICAL COMMITTEE – SUMMARY OF PROPOSED STANDARDS GUIDELINES

摘要

There are currently no international safetyrnstandards and guidelines to assist designers,rnoperators and authorities in the suborbital domain.rnThere is a launch licensing regime in the UnitedrnStates (US) to assist the forerunners of thernsuborbital domain however this does not provide arnsafety approval for the vehicle against set standardsrnor does not have an acceptable level of safety tornachieve in terms of design or operation. In Europe arncertification framework may be implementedrnhowever this (or any regulatory framework) is notrnin place as yet. This paper summarises the 5 tasksrnthus far completed by the International Associationrnfor the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS)rnSuborbital Safety Technical Committee (SS TC) inrnterms of deriving standards and guidelines for thernsuborbital domain. The SS TC comprises membersrnfrom the suborbital industry (US and Europeanrnvehicle designers), safety experts, legal experts,rnmedical/training experts, prospective spaceportrnoperators and members from the US and Europeanrnauthorities (though these members cannot directlyrnsteer the standards and guidelines – they canrnmerely review them for interest and comment onrnnon-policy aspects). The SS TC has been dividedrninto three working groups (WG): Regulatory WG,rnTechnical WG and Operations WG. The 5 tasksrnthat are summarised in this paper include:rnRegulatory WG – (Task 1) Clarify and promoternregulatory framework for suborbital flightsrn(including discussions on Space Law ‘v’ Air Lawrnfor suborbital domain); Technical WG – (Task 1)rnDefining & Alignment (globally) of Safety Criteriarnfor Suborbital domain using industry bestrnpractices, (Task 2) Software/complex hardwarerncertification for suborbital flights; Operations WGrn– (Task 1) Flight Crew and Spaceflight ParticipantrnMedical and Training Standards & Guidelines forrnsuborbital flight, (Task 2) Spaceport SafetyrnManagement System. This paper also details thernnext set of standards and guidelines that will bernderived by the SS TC. The paper concludes thatrnthese and future IAASS suborbital safety standardsrnand guidelines are needed now and should bernconsidered by the industry players before the firstrncommercial flights expected late 2013/early 2014.