Safety Design for Space Operations

Chapter 12

The Use of Quantitative Risk Assessment in the Operations Phase of Space Missions

Michael G. Lutomski

Chapter Outline

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Communicating Risk to the Customer

12.3 Examples of PRA Applied to an Operational Program

12.3 Conclusion

12.1 Introduction

This chapter is intended to provide an understanding of quantitative risk assessment as it is applied in the operational phase of complex aerospace missions. Like most engineering analyses, specialized skills are a prerequisite for quantitative risk assessments. Data collection, deriving reliability data, model construction, determining the scope of events to include and exclude, and the generation and interpretation of results are often multifaceted and intricately detailed ...