The executive summary offers a concise overview of the thesis research conducted, focusing on enabling risk management for parachute mortars on sounding rockets from a socio-technical perspective. The study aimed to address safety and performance risks associated with these systems and bridge the gap between theoretical risk management methods and practical applications.
The research was initiated with a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, which identified several gaps in the existing knowledge. These included a lack of detailed coverage on risk identification, assessment, and evaluation in case studies, limited information on parachute mortar systems specific to sounding rockets, and a lack of application of socio-technical systems to technical subsystems in spaceflight. The primary objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive risk management guideline specifically tailored for parachute mortar systems, integrating a socio-technical systems approach. The guideline aimed to be grounded in conventional risk management practices while being validated through a practical case study to ensure its feasibility. Throughout the research, various results were obtained. The evaluation of conventional risk management methods, including ISO31010, industry practices and socio-technical views, led to the initial design of the risk management approach. This approach was then applied to a case study involving the DARE mortar, allowing for the reflection on each method’s effectiveness. Key risks identified were
related to the carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) canister of the mortar system and risks of underperformance due to pressure leaks in the system during flight. These critical risks were successfully reduced through redesign and testing activities in the risk treatment phase of the case study. The final Risk Management Guideline was developed by incorporating the lessons learned from applying the approach to the case study. By applying the developed framework to a real-world scenario, this research went beyond theoretical considerations and demonstrated the practical applicability of the socio-technical system approach in mitigating risks associated with parachute mortars on sounding rockets. The combination of a practical
case study, a socio-technical approach, and risk management on sounding rocket subsystems is considered novel and has the potential to advance risk management activities in this domain.

The research also identified several future research directions. These include performing more case studies on smaller technical subsystems using a socio-technical systems approach, exploring and establishing consensus on definitions and boundaries of socio-technical systems, integrating qualitative results of human reliability analysis with risk management methods, and defining objective methods for
risk evaluation and establishing risk acceptance criteria. Overall, this thesis research contributes to the field of risk management by addressing the unique challenges
of parachute mortars on sounding rockets through a socio-technical systems perspective. The developed risk management guideline, validated through a practical case study, provides valuable insights and practical applications for mitigating risks in this specific context. It is anticipated that this research will facilitate further advancements in risk management activities for parachute mortars and socio-technical systems while also having the potential to be applied to other sounding rocket subsystems.