Notification of New Policy for Science Mission Directorate Class-D Missions

Class-D missions are a crucial part of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) mission portfolio, even though they are typically at lower cost than other missions and at low national priority. They provide an ideal platform for technological and architecture innovation and are a training ground for a diverse set of scientists and engineers. Class-D missions are also well-suited for novel partnership models between NASA and the commercial sector. These missions are thus a critical part of the SMD mission portfolio, but only if their management processes are aligned with their overall goals. For that reason, SMD has pursued a streamlined process for implementing Class-D missions that recognizes their unique and important role in SMD's mission portfolio. As a result of this work, SMD is issuing a new policy documenting the principles and approach that will guide the implementation of Class-D missions under $150M lifecycle cost, not including launch vehicles, going forward. This new approach is a tailoring/streamlining of how SMD executes space flight projects per NPR 8705.4, Risk Classification for NASA Payloads (Updated w/change 3); NPR 7120.5, NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management Requirements w/Changes 1-15; and the SMD Management Handbook. This policy is effective January 1, 2018, for all applicable projects that have not reached Key Decision Point-C (KDP-C) as of that date. The full text of the new policy is available: https://soma.larc.nasa.gov/standardao/ClassD.html SMD will be hosting a discussion of the new policy during the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans, LA. The town hall is scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2017, at 6:15pm CST. SMD will also host a discussion for interested industry representatives at 1:00pm EST on January 3, 2018 in the James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Audio-only participation is available by calling 1-888-677-3055, participant passcode 6286317.