Synopsis
GSFC-HDBK-8007 is a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center handbook titled “Mission Success Handbook for CubeSat Missions”, approved on December 16, 2019.
The purpose of the handbook is to provide guidance for developing mission success approaches for CubeSat missions across a range of mission lifetimes and criticalities. It accounts for the constraints in size, cost, and schedule associated with CubeSats compared to larger missions.
The handbook establishes a risk tolerance framework with classifications ranging from “Do No Harm” (highest risk posture) to NASA mission Class C (lowest risk posture). It provides recommendations on activities to consider for different risk tolerance levels related to programmatic vs technical risk.
The handbook includes guidance on topics such as reliability analysis, environmental testing, parts selection, inspections, peer reviews, software assurance, etc. tailored for CubeSat constraints. An appendix provides details on recommended environmental testing approaches.
The handbook is intended as a flexible guidance tool to be used as part of a holistic systems engineering approach for CubeSat missions, rather than a rigid set of requirements. It aims to align mission success activities with available resources and risk tolerance.
