NASA’s Glenn Research Center has provided leadership to the International Space Station (ISS) Program Office for the Stage Contingency EVA effort since February 2007. The Stage Contingency EVA effort protects against fourteen major failures that could occur on the ISS. Much of the failure planning focused on primary power or active thermal systems, and involved ground and EVA procedures, logistics and maintenance plans, and hazard analysis. Glenn orchestrated extensive collaboration between the ISS Program Office, Engineering Directorate, Mission Operations Directorate, Safety and Mission Assurance Offices across multiple NASA centers, and Boeing North American on this effort. 

As ISS moves closer to completion, fault-tolerance increases and the likelihood of a failure is significantly reduced. The Stage Contingency EVA task list will be discussed on the ISS Program Office level to determine how it will be used in the future. However, because of the integration work completed to date, the ISS community is prepared to repair a major failure within a brief period of time.

This phase of the project was completed in December 2007.