AEROSPACE REPORT NUMBER: TOR-2010(8591)-18, MISSION ASSURANCE PROGRAM FRAMEWORK (30-JUN-2010)

AEROSPACE REPORT NUMBER: TOR-2010(8591)-18, MISSION ASSURANCE PROGRAM FRAMEWORK (30-JUN-2010)., The Mission Assurance Program Framework team was one of five teams of the 2009-2010 Mission Assurance Improvement Workshop (MAIW) program. The team met approximately weekly via telephone conference and periodically in person during the ten months of its existence. The goal of the team, which consisted of government and industry partners, was to define core and supporting mission assurance processes for U.S. space programs. The team members were asked to consider and bring forth their separate enterprise processes that were considered necessary for mission assurance whether or not the processes were carried out by the mission assurance organizations within each of the enterprises. This survey resulted in 16 common mission assurance processes which were remarkably and almost universally consistent (when core and supporting processes were considered together) across all organizations. The survey results also provided information regarding which organizations within each enterprise were responsible for carrying out specific mission assurance processes. This information led to the observation that the organizations responsible for specific mission assurance processes can vary between enterprises. These 16 common mission assurance processes are recommended as an essential set necessary to provide effective mission assurance for U.S. space programs. They are recommended for implementation at prime contractor and supplier levels. Descriptions of each of the processes are given within this document. Recommendations for follow-on activities are provided. Further suggestions regarding modifications of the Mission Assurance Guide were developed and recorded in a separate white paper.