June 1, 2006 – Reston, Virginia – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today that it has contracted with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to designate AIAA as the secretariat support organization for the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). Through this arrangement, AIAA will provide standardization management and administration, Web site development, and promotional services for CCSDS.
“CCSDS looks forward to this new relationship with AIAA. By leveraging AIAA’s considerable experience in standardization management, CCSDS will enhance its consensus processes while also utilizing the Institute’s broad reach to increase CCSDS visibility within the aerospace community,” said John Kelley, chairman of the CCSDS Management Council and head of the Data Standards Program at NASA Headquarters. NASA provides the secretariat within CCSDS, and the AIAA contract will execute the secretariat tasks of standards document management and other key support functions. The contract will be managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), NASA’s field center for technical and data standards.
CCSDS was formed in 1982 by the major space agencies of the world to provide a forum for discussion of common problems in the development and operation of space data systems. It is currently composed of 10 member agencies, 22 observer agencies and over 100 industrial associates.
“We believe AIAA can help advance the goals of CCSDS and better serve this important community,” stated AIAA Vice President for Standards Amr ElSawy. “Additionally, this partnership strengthens AIAA’s important role in global space standardization.”
While CCSDS is responsible for developing standards for space data and information transfer systems, TC20/SC14 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO TC20/SC14) convenes working groups of technical experts from 11 space-faring nations to develop consensus documents for space systems and operations. AIAA also provides the secretariat for TC20/SC14. Together these two organizations publish standards to cover the entire spectrum of a space mission, from design, ground processing and launch, to in-orbit communications and space-to-ground data relay and processing.
ElSawy noted, “Bringing CCSDS under the AIAA standards program umbrella provides a unique opportunity for cooperation among the space community to develop and harmonize standards that will play an important role in future civil, defense and commercial space ventures. In addition, as we continue to implement our new strategy of allowing AIAA standards documents to be freely downloaded by our members, a link to the currently freely available CCSDS standards will greatly enhance our standards library.”
About AIAA
AIAA advances the state of aerospace science, engineering, and technological leadership. Headquartered in suburban Washington, DC, the Institute serves over 35,000 members in 65 regional sections and 79 countries. AIAA membership is drawn from all levels of industry, academia, private research organizations, and government. For more information, visit http://www.aiaa.org .
About CCSDS
Since its founding in 1982, CCSDS has provided a forum for discussion of common problems in the development and operation of space data systems. Through the cooperation of its 10 international space agency members, more than 90 international space data standards have been developed. These standards have been implemented on more than 300 missions to date. For more information, visit http://www.ccsds.org .
