KSC Reliability Home

KSC Reliability

Reliability (R) is the probability (likelihood) a system will perform its intended function with no failures during a given period of time (mission time) under specified operating conditions (environment).

Maintainability (M) is the probability a failed item will be restored or repaired to a specified condition within a given period of time.

Availability (A) a function of Reliability and Maintainability (R&M), is the probability a repairable system will perform its intended function at a given point in time or over a specified period of time when operated and maintained in a prescribed manner.

IIdeally and from an RMA Plan, the RMA team performs three major functions, namely, (1) Design for RMA, (2) RMA verification, and (3) Analytical physics. Specific RMA tasks click here.

Policies Processes Standards Tools Guidelines & Techniques


Terminology	Reliability: What is it?
	Mission Assurance: What is it?
	Reliability Discipline, Overview of Methods
	Probability & Verification: Concepts & Principles
	Probability Distribution Functions, Palisade's Summary
	Index to RAC's "Reliability Toolkit"
Training	Quick Study: SRC's Topics (click START under RESOURCES)
	Discipline Overview: Wikipedia on Reliability Engineering
	On-Line Tutorial: Eng S/W's Basic R&M Mathematics
	Courses: NASA (NASA NDC logon credentials required)
	Examples: JSC's S&MA Analyses (access approval required)
	Programs: NASA Safety Center's STEP
Organizations	American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Tip: Click "Publications", "AIAA Electronic Library", perform search)
	American Society of Quality - Reliability Division
	Barringer & Associates
	Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE)
	Data & Analysis Center for Software
	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Reliability Society
	Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology
	NASA Engineering Network
	National Institute of Standards and Technology
	Reliability Information Analysis Center
	Society for Maintenance & Reliability Professionals
	System Reliability Center
	Warranty Week (Note: Warranty < Unreliability = 1 - Reliability)
History	History of Reliability and Quality Assurance at KSC
	Design Reliability (RBDA & FMEA), KSC Eng, 1974 (NASA internal only)
Apollo Program	History: Reliability in the Apollo Program
	Technical Manual: Apollo Reliability (NASA internal only)
	Dr. Kurt H. Debus: Contributions, Legacy, and Challenges

	NPD 8720.1C NASA Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) Program Policy
	KNPR 8720.2 KSC Reliability and Maintainability Procedural Requirements (NASA internal only)

	NASA-STD-8729.1 Planning, Developing, and Managing an Effective Reliability and Maintainability Program

	Reliability Standards & Preferred Practices
	NASA Preferred Practices for R&M and for Design and Test
	NASA OCE's Lessons Learned (NASA internal only)
	Military Handbooks and Standards Related to Reliability
	Military Standards and Specifications (click ASSIST Quick Search)


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Event Based	Binomial Tutorial and Tool (Prob. of x or more events in n attempts)
	Binomial * Tool (Prob. of x or less events in n attempts)
Time Based	Poisson Example
	Poisson * Tool (Prob. of r or less events in a time interval)
	Poisson Tool (Prob. of exactly r events in a time interval and Sparing)
	Weibull Tool (Graph the Four Weibull Functions Given the Parameters
	Weibull Tool (Determine the Parameters for the Weibull, etc.)
	Non-Parametric Method
	Availability
Temperature Based	Arrhenius
Tool Suites	* DRAT
	PI eXpert (Includes Data Visualization)
	Windchill Quality Solutions (formerly Relex) (NASA NDC logon)
	IPAE (Info only: project inactive)
	IDAS (Non-NASA users)
	IDAS (NASA NDC logon credentials required)


Decision Making	A Pyramid of Decision Approaches
	Dept of Energy's Guidebook to Decision-Making Methods
	NASA's Risk-Informed Decision Making Handbook
Systems Engineering	NASA Systems Engineering "Toolbox" (start with Appendix B)
	NASA Systems Engineering Handbook
	NASA Preferred Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) Practices
	NASA System Safety Handbook
	Establishing & Balancing High-Level S, R, & M Requirements
	Allocating Reliability Given Requirements as a Fault Tree
Statistical Engineering	Web Page, ASQ's Statistics Division
	2011 Proceedings, NASA Symposium
	2012 Special Edition, ASQ's Quality Engineering Journal
Success-Space Modeling	Functional Flow Block Diagrams (FFBD)
	RMA Analysis via RBDA
	Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) (NASA internal only)
Failure-Space Modeling	Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA)
	Fault Tree Handbook with Aerospace Applications
	Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Guidebook
Failure-Data Resources	Failure Data Handbook for Aerospace Systems & Spacecraft Designs
	KSC S&MA Data Requirements (NASA internal only)
	Reliability Prediction of Mechanical Equipment
Bayesian Method	Summary: Process and Comparison
	NASA Handbook on Bayesian Inference
Uncertainty	Summary: Concepts & Principles
	NUREG-1855, Vol 1, Report
Miscellaneous	EEE Parts Assurance (NASA internal only)
	Interface Definition & Control
	Laplace Test (Statistical test for trend)
	Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM)
	Root Cause Analysis
	Work Process Improvement (NASA internal only)