NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) Program marks its 30th anniversary this year as part of the agency, assuring safety and success of high-profile missions.
Today, the IV&V Program is housed at the Katherine Johnson IV&V Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia. Since 2019, the facility has been named for West Virginia native and famed mathematician for NASA, Katherine Johnson. Those within IV&V work to provide assurance of safety and that mission critical systems and software will operate reliably and securely. And that’s been the goal of the program since its inception 30 years ago.
“Looking back at what the IV&V Program has overcome and accomplished during the last 30 years is a true testament to the dedication, tenacity, and capabilities of our amazing team here at IV&V,” Program Director Wes Deadrick said.
The IV&V Program was established in 1993 as a direct result of recommendations made by the National Research Council (NRC) and the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident of on Jan. 28, 1986.
“NASA and the IV&V Program are making strides every day in space travel and exploration – all with safety at the cornerstone,” Deadrick said previously. “Safety for our teams, our astronauts, and the entire community is a top priority in all we do – it’s why the IV&V Program exists and works hard at mission safety and assurance.”
In the years since its inception, the IV&V Program has contributed to NASA missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope, LandSat 9, Mars Exploration and Perseverance Rovers, and the Parker Solar Probe.
More recently, IV&V has worked on various elements of the Artemis Program, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Psyche, and many others. In FY2022, NASA IV&V successfully identified, mitigated, and closed 26 high priority internal and external risks having impacts on 15 projects.
“We would like to acknowledge and thank the support of civil servant and contractor workforce as well as many of our local and longtime partners and stakeholders of the IV&V Program,” Deputy Director Ken Vorndran said.
As IV&V celebrates its 30th year, leadership is aiming to embrace the history of the program while looking toward the future. “The future for the IV&V Program is exceptionally bright and promising. As we continue to advance and expand our technical capabilities,” Deadrick said. “I am confident that our customer base, both internal and external to the Agency, will continue to grow and we will have abundant opportunities for our team to be a part of exceptionally meaningful and impactful work.”