Houston, we have a podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space

Center, episode 302, NASA's Safety Culture. I'm Gary Jordan. I'll be your host today.

On this podcast, we bring in the experts, scientists, engineers, astronauts, I'll tell

you what's going on in the world of human spaceflight and more. Human spaceflight is hard.

That statement shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, but in the dynamic period that

we're in with more launches, more companies, more missions than ever before in human space

flight, it may seem routine. But behind every activity, whether it's a human launch, a

spacewalk, a scientific investigation, or even training here at the Johnson Space Center,

safety is rooted in all of it as a core value. NASA's Safety Culture is not just a culture

or an idea, but there is a dedicated directorate here at the Johnson Space Center called Safety

and Mission Assurance, with the purpose of embedding carefully crafted safety practices

into every aspect of the activities we have here at the Space Center, from ensuring a successful

launch to making sure the communal bikes we have meet safety standards. Joining us on

today's episode to describe this culture and the practices is Willie Lyles, the director

of the Johnson Space Center's Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate. With more than 29 years

of experience at NASA, Willie describes our culture today and how it has evolved over

time. Let's get into it.

Willie Lyles, thank you so much for coming on Houston Weaver Podcast.

No problem, Gary. All right. Yeah, yeah, really good to have you. I want to learn a little

bit about just the safety culture we have here a little bit what you do in safety and

mission assurance, but you've been in NASA a long time. He said 1994 was your first day.

With NASA, I worked out here. I started working out here in this area in 1990, working with

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