National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Off to a good START

Online tool gives Marshall team members one-stop shop for research, engineering resources

By Megan Norris Davidson

Everyone looks for better ways to use their time – especially when it comes to meeting those all-important deadlines. And one online system can help team members across the Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA save those valuable hours by providing single-point access to engineering tools and services.

The NASA Standards and Technical Assistance Resource Tool, or START, a Web tool sponsored by the NASA Technical Standards Program, provides access to more than half-a-million active technical standards.

Technical Standards are those recognized and adopted documents that establish uniform engineering and technical requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods. The standards are developed from more than 300 organizations, including the Department of Defense and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Formerly named the NASA Technical Standards System, the tool now has a new look, and the START team is working to improve some of its functions.

"We are working to advance the capabilities of the tool to allow technical standards to work seamlessly with other digital products such as parts libraries, lessons learned and other systems," said Steve Lide, manager of the NASA Technical Standards Program for the agency. "The idea is to make it simpler for technical people to access great technical information quickly and conveniently."

START is provided by the NASA Technical Standards Program, sponsored by the Office of the Chief Engineer at NASA Headquarters in Washington and managed by the Marshall Center.

"The NASA Technical Standards Program works closely with agency and industry sources to bring an extensive collection of technical reference information to the desktops of NASA designers, manufacturers and operators," Lide said. "We do that primarily through the START Web site."

Through START, users also can register standards and NASA directives on a watch list and receive automatic notification via e-mail as specific documents are accepted for notification change. The system links relevant lessons learned to many standards provided from various databases. Another feature links standards with relevant application notes, or experiences based on usage, to assist in applying a specific standard. Technical standards tutorials also provide the agency with an interactive and continuous learning environment and reference that can be used as a guide.

Engineering tools are available to users through the system and include:

• Haystack Gold - Provides logistic parts information from more than 40 databases about items that are purchased and stocked by the federal government. Information can be located by part number, keyword or batch search functions.
• 4D-Online Parts Universe - An electronic component database with more than 25 million parts. Organized into 350 categories, Parts Universe provides single-point access to data sheets, environmental compliance data and cross-references for more than 500 manufacturers.
• MatWeb - A searchable database of materials properties including data sheets of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers such as nylon and polyester; metals such as cobalt and nickel; and other engineering materials.
• eFunda - An online destination for the engineering community, where working professionals can quickly find concise and reliable information to meet the majority of their daily reference needs.
• The Materials and Processes Technical Information System, or MAPTIS - Provides a single-point source for materials properties for NASA and NASA-associated contractors and organizations. The MAPTIS system contains physical, mechanical and environmental properties for metallic and nonmetallic materials.

START is located at http://standards.nasa.gov. Marshall employees also can access the Web site from Inside Marshall.

Davidson, an AI Signal Research Inc. employee, supports the Office of Strategic Analysis & Communications.

This article originally appeared in the September 24, 2009 issue of the "Marshall Star."