Standards and Testing Committee Chair

Current Committee Purpose: To provide the NAR with a prompt, reliable, and accurate capability to test and certify manufacturers’ sport rocket motors for compliance with the performance and reliability standards established by NFPA Codes 1122 and 1127; and to provide technical analysis and recommendations to the NAR Board for any proposed changes to the NAR Safety Codes.

NAR By-Laws Language: Article 11, Section 4: The Standards and Testing Committee shall have as its duties the establishment and revision of the standards and regulations of the Association, the establishment and revision of the Safety Code(s) of the Association, and the testing and certification of equipment as called out in the standards and regulations of the Association.

Article 2: The Association shall: ….

(b) establish, enforce, modify and publish standards and rules relating to the construction, operation, and safety of non-professional consumer rockets and rocket products;

(c) establish and define key safety parameters pertaining to non-professional consumer rocketry in the Safety Code(s) of the Association.

Specific Expectations:

1. I will establish clear and detailed technical standards and administrative process rules for the submission, testing, certification, and decertification of commercially-made sport rocket motors, and will ensure that these standards are compatible with NFPA Codes 1122 and 1127, where applicable. I will provide these standards, and any revisions to these standards, to every licensed sport rocket manufacturer.

2. I will maintain a test stand or family of test stands that are capable of testing solid-fuel sport rocket motors of all sizes from 1/4A to K to an accuracy of 1% or better in the measurement of thrust, burn and delay time, and total impulse.

3. I will test any motor that is submitted to my Committee by a manufacturer, and that is accompanied by all required documentation and fees, within 60 days of receipt of the motor. I will provide the results of the tests to the manufacturer, and (if applicable) make the public announcement of the motor’s certification, within 30 days after the testing is completed.

4. I will maintain the confidentiality of any information provided to my Committee in confidence by a manufacturer, and the confidentiality of the results of any motor tests with the exception of the completed certification form and example thrust-time curve for motors that are successfully certified as a result of Committee tests.

5. I will operate a reporting system that permits rocketeers to easily file reports on the malfunction of NAR-certified motors in the field. I will establish clear standards and procedures for taking action with the manufacturer in response to widespread reports of failure of a particular motor type, and will inform the NAR President promptly when such action appears to be warranted.

6. I will make all certification reports for motors certified as a result of my Committee’s testing easily available at a nominal cost to all NAR members and other interested parties, through the NARTS Committee, the NAR web page, or other sources.

7. I will provide a master list of all motors certified by the NAR, either through my Committee’s testing or through reciprocal arrangements with other organizations, to the NAR webmaster and to the editors of Sport Rocketry and Model Rocketeer at least once every six months.

8. I will maintain the official master copy of each Safety Code established by the NAR, and will update this copy with any changes approved by the NAR Board of Trustees and provide updated versions to the NAR webmaster and other interested parties. I will provide such testing support, technical analysis, and professional advice as the NAR Board of Trustees may request in support of any changes being considered to any of these codes or to any NFPA code.