Abstract
In the last two decades, there has been a major effort to create methods, techniques, and tools that help analysts understand and reduce human failures when performing an activity. Human reliability analysis (HRA) is a systematic technique to assess human systematic risk and has been widely used in various industries for enhancing the safety and reliability of complex socio-technical systems. For obvious reasons, the nuclear industry has been the motor for investigating and developing new models. The satellite industry provides another fertile source of information on how human failures arise in critical industries. This chapter provides a perspective on HRA in the launch vehicle industry.
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Notes
- 1.
The author had opportunity to visit the solid rocket propellant plant of Morton Thiokol (now known as Orbital ATK), the manufacturers of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) powering the Space Shuttle. In the shop where the nozzle liners were being machined, there were signboards indicating the name of the component being prepared, its function and its cost. I was told that the signboard informed the machinist the importance of the component and the cost emphasised the value and the care that should be taken in turning out the component to avoid any mistake and loss.
- 2.
Once the top management takes a call on a new mission requirement (for example, remote sensing satellite of 1000 kg nominal mass needed in 600–800 km polar orbit) a task team is formed to study the feasibility, suggest candidate architectures, identify available technologies/new technologies and infrastructure needed. The Team also provides an estimate of cost and time frame required to achieve the mission. The Task Team report after acceptance forms the basis for detailed design of the mission and generates specifications for key subsystems and other downstream activities.
- 3.
For aerospace systems, configuration and weight budget management is a critical task. A change in dimension, tolerance, mass, volume and performance can have an impact on an adjacent system and needs to be kept in check. When a change has to be implemented, the change has to be notified to other system developers to enable them to check for any consequences/make appropriate alteration in their system.
- 4.
Launch vehicle constituents include propellants, ordnance systems and electrical systems and pose certain explosive and corrosive hazards. While a safety plan is a must for many operations, for launch vehicle systems it is an essential requirement to lay down the safety procedures to be followed during constituent preparation as well as during integration and assembly process. Safety procedures must cover storage, transportation and handling practises as well as mitigation/remedial procedures in case of a mishap.
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Nagappa, R. (2023). Human Reliability in Launch Vehicle Systems. In: Chirayath, S.S., Sai Baba, M. (eds) Human Reliability Programs in Industries of National Importance for Safety and Security. Risk, Reliability and Safety Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5005-8_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5005-8_23
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