Organization Structure

Picture of Ralph Roe, Jr. Director,
Ralph R. Roe, Jr.

+ Biography
Picture of Timmy Wilson Deputy Director,
Timmy R. Wilson

+ Biography
NESC Organization Structure Organization Structure
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NESC News Subscription

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Technical Resources

The NASA Technical Standards Program is sponsored by the NASA Chief Engineer. The program's website provides access to standards from over 100 standards developing organizations, including DOD and NASA.
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NESC Overview

    What is the NESC?

    NASA Engineering and Safety Center's (NESC) mission is to perform value-added independent testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA's high-risk projects to ensure safety and mission success. The NESC engages proactively to help NASA avoid future problems.



    NESC is an independently funded program with a dedicated team of technical experts that provides objective engineering and safety assessments of critical, high-risk projects. This is the charge of the NESC: an organization dedicated to promoting safety through engineering excellence, unaffected and unbiased by the programs it is evaluating. The NESC is a resource and is meant to benefit the programs and organizations within the Agency, the Centers, and the people who work there.
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    Find answers to common questions.
    + Frequently Asked Questions

    Learn more about the NESC background and organization.
    + NESC Overview Presentation

NESC Features

  • Chilean Miner Rescue Support

    Chilean Miner Rescue Support

    The NESC provided support to the trapped miners in Chile by making recommendations on miner health and wellbeing and also designing the rescue capsule.

  • Full scale composite crew module primary structure with fiber optic and traditional strain gauges attached.

    Composite Crew Module (CCM)

    For the past three years, the NESC has been evaluating a composite crew module as an alternative to the baseline Orion design. A tiger team was formed between Orion and the NESC team recently to compare opportunities and challenges.

  • Crew Module Water Landing Drop Tests

    Crew Module Water Landing Drop Tests

    In February 2010, an NESC team conducted water drop tests of the full-size boilerplate Crew Module. The Module was dropped multiple times at two different hang angles, resulting in water impact sink rates of up to 25 feet per second.

  • MLAS Launch

    MLAS Launch

    Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, was successfully tested at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, July 8.

  • Image showing lower test fixture assembly.

    Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor (SBKF) Special Study

    NESC team studies launch vehicle design to reduce weight and cost.

  • Image showing numerical model used in Orion Crew Member Injury Predictions.

    Human Occupant Injury Factors for Orion Spacecraft Landings

    NESC leads team to assess potential crew injuries during Orion landings.

NESC Latest News

     01.05.11 - NESC Tests Cylinders to Save Weight on Launchers
    Tests by NESC’s Shell Buckling Knockdown Factors assessment team indicate that weight savings up to 20% may be achieved for future launch vehicles.
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     12.22.10 - NESC Participates in Study of TRACE Spacecraft’s New Slewing Procedure
    NESC assists study of TRACE spacecraft by showing that the shortest path is not always the fastest in reaching destinations in space.
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     10.28.10 - Recognition of NESC's Clint Cragg
    NESC’s Clint Cragg is recognized in the White House Oval Office for his work in rescuing the trapped Chilean miners.
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    + Read all NESC-related news and press releases

Submitting Requests

    Do you have a technical concern?
    Please contact the NESC.

    If you would like to submit a technical request anonymously, please mail it to:
    NESC
    NASA Langley Research Center
    Mail Stop 118
    Hampton, VA 23681

NESC Assisted Chilean Miners

    President Obama and NASA Administrator Bolden recognize NESC’s Clint Cragg for his assistance in rescuing the trapped Chilean miners.

    President Barack Obama, standing center, meets with members of the NASA

    President Barack Obama, standing center, meets with members of the NASA team in the Oval Office.
    From left, Dr. Michael Duncan, Dr. Albert Holland, Dr. James Polk and Dr. Clint Cragg along with others who traveled to Chile to assist the once-trapped miners. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is at the far right.
    Others represented in the meeting with the President were representatives from Schramm, Inc. of Chester County, Pa., Center Rock Inc. from Berlin, Pa., Layne Christensen Company of Kansas City, Kan., Geotec Boyles Bros., S.A., a US-Chilean company based in Santiago, Chile, and Aramark. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)


CCM News

 
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