Standards Development

Scope

This document establishes general requirements for the application of fracture control technology to fracture-critical items (FCIs) fabricated from metallic, non-metallic or composite materials. It also establishes mechanical damage control requirements for mechanical-damage-critical items (MDCIs) fabricated from composite materials. These requirements, when implemented on a particular space system, can assure a high level of confidence in achieving safe operation and mission success.

The requirements set forth in this document are the minimum fracture control and mechanical damage control requirements for FCIs and MDCIs in general space systems, including launch vehicles, spacecraft and ground support equipment. With necessary modifications, these requirements may also be applicable to reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). This document is not applicable to the Shuttle and its payloads or the ISS and its equipment, since they already have a set of specific requirements suitable for their special applications.

This document is not applicable to processing detected defects.