Commercial Human Spaceflight Safety Regulatory Framework

Adobe Astronauts floating by panels in space.

Download Report

Produced by Aerospace's Space Safety Institute, this report presents a recommended framework for commercial human spaceflight safety based on an analysis of other transportation sectors, identification of common safety components, and a roadmap that leads to an ideal future where human spaceflight is a common practice. This takes into consideration current and future commercial activities regardless of the development status of individual spaceflight companies. The developed safety framework is flexible in order to recognize new developments, new transportation mechanisms, and new spaceflight destinations as they emerge.

Through case studies of other transportation sectors, we identified three themes or common components in all effective safety frameworks, regardless of the individual structure or maturity level of a particular sector:

  1. People
  2. Safety Culture
  3. Data Collection and Analytics

The report describes activities promoting these three common components and provides additional aspects for an effective and comprehensive safety framework, including a safety management system, safety case approaches, and other long-term considerations. The report concludes with a roadmap and a recommended timeline for implementation.