Overview

This page describes the Space Systems risk management framework. The objectives of this page are to:

• Highlight the importance of designing aerospace systems with a risk mindset
• Describe the technical risk management process as consisting of risk-informed decision making and continuous risk management
• Provide a framework for risk management using the

This content is part of the Space Systems Crash Courses. It can be viewed in presentation format here:

Risk Management

A Case Study In Risk Management

OSIRIS-REx was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid.

$611 million was budgeted for development through Phase D (outside of launch costs) but the project actually spent $566 million through Phase D, saving $45 million. Moreover, the project met all major schedule milestones laid out in the proposal, including launch within the 39-day period available to reach Bennu.

How?

Risk Management

What Is a Risk?

A risk is anything that could potentially impact your project’s timeline, performance, or budget. Risks are potentialities, and in a project management context, if they become realities, they then become classified as issues.

A risk has two (2) components:

1. the likelihood (or probability) of failing to achieve a particular outcome, and
2. the severity (or impact) of failing to achieve that outcome.

A risk’s consequence, then, is the product of its likelihood and its severity. This is further expanded upon later in the Risk Management Process.

Why Take the Risk (into Consideration)?