[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 14, Volume 5, Parts 1200 to end]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 14CFR1214.301]

[Page 110-111]
 
                     TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
 
                          SPACE ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 1214--SPACE FLIGHT--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart 1214.3--Payload Specialists for Space Transportation System 
                             (STS) Missions
 
Sec. 1214.301  Definitions.

    (a) Payload specialists. Individuals other than NASA astronauts 
(commanders, pilots, and mission specialists), whose presence is 
required on board the Space Shuttle to perform specialized functions 
with respect to operation of one or more payloads or other essential 
mission activities.
    (b) NASA or NASA-related payload. A specific complement of 
instruments,

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space equipment, and support hardware, developed by a NASA Program 
Office or by another party with which NASA has a shared interest, and 
carried into space to accomplish a mission or discrete activity in 
space.
    (c) Mission. The performance of a coherent set of investigations or 
operations in space to achieve program goals. A single mission might 
require more than one flight or more than one mission might be 
accomplished on a single flight.
    (d) Mission manager. The official responsible for the implementation 
of the payload portion of an STS flight(s).
    (e) Mission specialist. A career NASA astronaut trained and skilled 
in the operation of STS systems related to payload operations and 
thoroughly familiar with the operational requirements and objectives of 
the payloads with which the mission specialist will fly. The mission 
specialist, when designated for a flight, will participate in the 
planning of the mission and will be responsible for the coordination of 
overall payload/STS interaction. The mission specialist will direct the 
allocation of STS and crew resources to the accomplishment of the 
combined payload objectives during the payload operations phase of the 
flight in accordance with the approved flight plan.
    (f) Investigator Working Group (IWG). A group composed of the 
Principal Investigators, or their representatives, whose primary purpose 
is facilitating or coordinating the development and execution of the 
operational plans of an approved NASA program or reporting the progress 
thereof.
    (g) Payload sponsor. For NASA and NASA-related payloads the payload 
sponsor is the Associate Administrator of the sponsoring Program Office 
whose responsibilities are most closely related to the particular 
scientific or engineering discipline associated with a payload. For all 
other payloads, the payload sponsor is identified by the Associate 
Administrator who contracts with the agency or organization, whether 
foreign or domestic, private-sector or governmental, to fly a payload on 
the STS.
    (h) Unique requirements. The need for a highly specialized or 
unusual technical or professional background or the need for instrument 
operations requiring a highly specialized or unusual background that is 
not likely to be found in the group of mission specialists or cannot be 
attained in a reasonable training period.