Human-rating certification

Human-rated or man-rated are terms used to describe the certification of a spacecraft, launch vehicle or airplane as worthy of transporting humans. NASA and the U.S. GAO now uses "Human-rating" when describing requirements for these systems. The terms "man-rated" and "human-rated" are mostly used interchangeably.

In spaceflight, a human-rating certification is the assurance that the space system accommodates human needs, effectively utilizes human capabilities, controls hazards with sufficient certainty to be considered safe for human operations, and provides, to the maximum extent practical, the capability to safely recover the crew from hazardous situations.^[1] In the United States, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has published NASA Procedural Requirement 8705.2 - Human Rating Requirements for Space Systems, defining the certification process and a set of technical requirements to be applied to its crewed space systems in addition to the standards and requirements that are mandatory for all of NASA's space flight programs.^[1]

It is noteworthy that the development of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station pre-dates the NASA Human-Rating requirements. After the Challenger and Columbia accidents, the criteria used by NASA for human-rating spacecraft have been made more stringent.^{[citation needed]}

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) has published a paper detailing the modifications to its Delta IV and Atlas V launch vehicles that would be needed to conform to 8705.2B.^[2] ULA has since been awarded $6.7 million under NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program for development of an Emergency Detection System, one of the final pieces that would be needed to make these launchers suitable for manned spaceflight.

See also

• Human spaceflight
• FAA
• NASA

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Human Rating Requirements for Space Systems". NASA. May 6, 2008. http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?Internal_ID=N_PR_8705_002B_. 
2. ^ "Atlas and Delta Capabilities to Launch Crew to Low Earth Orbit". http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/docs/publications/HumanRatingAtlasVandDeltaIV.pdf.