Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.) Office of Engineering and Review.

The Space-Flight Significant Events File (SSEF) was established by the Laboratory to provide a formal record of significant events that led to a lesson learned. It was intended that the SSEF have a wide circulation within the Laboratory's engineering and scientific personnel.

The SSEF documented events arising out of the implementation and operation of flight and related support equipment. The SSEF used the Laboratory's various problem / failure and discrepancy reporting systems to identify and document any problem, failure, incident, surprise, or anomaly to the extent that 1) the event was significant in terms of actual or potential impact to the activity in which it occurred; and 2) its importance to future Laboratory activities. Significant events of other origin with "lessons learned" relative to Laboratory activities were also been included.

The SSEF was supported by a steering group consisting of a representative from each Technical Division, the Office of Flight Projects, the Office of Space Science and Instruments, the Systems Assurance Division and the Office of Engineering and Review. This steering group, chaired by the Office of Engineering and Review, considered various candidates for inclusion as significant events and assured that the "lessons learned" and appropriate "recommendations" were documented and distributed.

The type of events noted were, for example, high temperatures in the Magellan rocket engine module, telemetry degradation in the Galileo spacecraft due to multi-path signals, failure of fault protection in Mars Observer due to an apparent propulsion subsystem breach, increased testing for "lower cost, higher risk" missions, lander outgassing causing Viking acceleration, the impact of real-time commands on Voyager flight operations, and the degrading of a traveling wave tube amplifier on Mars due to arcing.