William Foley

The essence of my job is to think about anything that could realistically go wrong and to ensure that it is mitigated as much as is feasible. The projects that I currently have the privilege to support include the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) crew module and Separation Ring (CSR) project, as well as Orion government-furnished equipment such as air monitors, breathing masks, fire extinguishers and modified Advanced Crew Escape Spacesuits.

At times in NASA’s history, there has been a stigma associated with Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA)—a perception that SMA inhibits progress by always saying no. However, I can happily report from my experience in the past 10 years at NASA that I have not experienced this stigma. While Johnson Space Center’s workforce has fully embraced a safety first culture, the SMA organization has shifted to a “Yes, if …” mentality. “Yes, if …” means that if something is too high risk, it is not enough to say no. You instead must state what is needed to be able to proceed. As a result, there is a very healthy relationship today between Engineering and SMA teams to identify and mitigate risk before there is a real problem.

A great example is the AA-2 CSR project. This project, an unmanned flight test, will remain at low-enough attitudes so that most of the mainline Orion requirements are not applicable. Much of my role is helping Engineering and SMA reach agreement on an approach that balances the project’s constraints with the need for mission success. I am very grateful to be able to contribute to these difficult discussions because, in my view, the current and future success of NASA depends on striking the right balance.