# Presentation: 126614

## NASA Quality

- (1)

**Quality Leadership Forum**
**July 17, 2001**

**Michael A. Greenfield, Ph.D**
**Deputy Associate Administrator**
**Office of Safety and Mission Assurance**

## What is NASA’s Mission?

**To advance and communicate scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe**
**To advance human exploration, use, and development of space**
**To research, develop, verify, and transfer advanced aeronautics and space technologies**

**What is NASA’s Mission?**

## What are NASA’s Challenges?

**What are NASA’s Challenges?**

**Harsh environments**
**Critical functions**
**Complex systems**
**“****Tight” coupling**
**Semi autonomous operation**
**Significant consequences**
**People**
**Mission**** **

## The Role of Quality

**The Role of Quality**

**Evaluating new designs, technologies, processes, and suppliers**
**Defining unique product/process quality requirements**
**Monitoring quality performance**
**Performing test, inspection, assessments, and other surveillance**
**Dispositioning nonconformances and failures**
**Supporting design, manufacturing, and flight certification reviews**

## Areas of Quality Consideration

**Product Quality**
**Process Quality**
**Design Quality**
**Systems Quality**
**Organizational Quality**

***What areas of emphasis will have the greatest improvement on the likelihood of safety and mission success for a specific activity?***

**Development Quality**
**Manufacturing Quality**
**Test Quality**
**Operational Quality**
**Software Quality**

**Quality can have many different areas of focus **
**and many different goals.**

## Quality Related Functions 

**Space Shuttle**

**Space Station**

- CI

- Problem Reporting

- Workmanship

- Reliability

- EEE Parts

- M&P

- Surveillance

- Assessments

- Risk Mgmt/RBAM

- Quality

- Process Control

## Why is Quality Important?

**Why is Quality Important?**

**Connector**
**Separation**
**Failure**

**April 99, Inertial**
**Upper Stage**

**Titan IV**

**Aug 98, Titan IV**
**Wiring Short **

**STS-93 AC1 short**

**April 99, Wrong**
**Roll Rate Filter**

**X33 LH2 Tank **
**Test Failure**

**SSME Test Engine Failure Tape Contamination**

**STS-93 SSME **
**Coolant Tube**
**Damage**

## Near Misses and Diving Catches

**Near Misses and Diving Catches**

**Space Shuttle Examples**

- STS-80 EVA aborted due to loose fastener binding the hatch mechanism
- STS-83 mission shortened and later repeated (STS-94) due to a fuel cell failure indication

- STS-93 A/C Bus short resulted in loss of redundancy in SSME Controllers.
- STS-93 SSME LOX post pin liberated and impacted the engine nozzle resulting in a hydrogen leak and an early MECO.

- Challenger

- During pre-launch STS-92 final inspection, a (un)tethered pin was found resting on the umbilical area; resulted in a launch scrub to retrieve the pin.

- Post-STS-79 inspection of the SRB forward skirt identified a combination wrench lodged behind avionics equipment; potential for loss of vehicle if the wrench dislodged during first stage.

**Level 0 - Complete Failures**

**Level 1 - Partial Failure**
**Reduced mission success (less than 100%)**

**Level 2 - Near Misses**
**(miss could have impacted mission success, wasn’t caught, but vehicle flew through it)**

**Level 3 - Diving Catches**
**(miss could have impacted mission success, but was caught)**

**Level 4 - Escapements**** (found late or outside the normal process)**

**Notes:**
This breakout of five levels of anomalies was initially assembled and provided for the Lockheed Martin Corporation’s Independent Assessment Team for Mission Success.  
The five levels span the range from a complete mission failure to an escapement that is caught in subsequent inspection or testing.  The total number of occurrences of each level is shown on the table.  Representative examples are shown to demonstrate the types of anomalies in each category.

## Near Misses and Diving Catches

**Near Misses and Diving Catches**

**ELV Examples**

- Pegasus/HETE mission stage 2/3 separation anomaly

- Delta III/RL-10B combustion chamber rupture. (engine brazing process)

**Level 0 - Complete Failures**

**Level 1 - Partial Failure**

**Level 2 - Near Misses**

**Level 3 - Diving Catches**

**Level 4 - Escapements**

**Spacecraft Examples**

- Hubble; mirror anomaly.  Subsequently repaired
- Galileo HGA failure to deploy

- Stardust: filter wheel frozen in place.  If frozen in different position would have been significant impact.
- NEAR: failure to perform initial thruster firings to achieve Eros orbit. (software inhibits)

- Mars Polar Lander
- Mars Climate Orbiter

- Mars Odyssey suspect capacitors replaced just prior to launch
- TOPEX lifting harness failure

- Huygens Probe: Doppler shift oversight (may still be failure)
- Magellan tape recorders

**Notes:**
This breakout of five levels of anomalies was initially assembled and provided for the Lockheed Martin Corporation’s Independent Assessment Team for Mission Success.  
The five levels span the range from a complete mission failure to an escapement that is caught in subsequent inspection or testing.  The total number of occurrences of each level is shown on the table.  Representative examples are shown to demonstrate the types of anomalies in each category.

## Areas Of Increasing Emphasis For Quality

**Procedure Based **
**	****(QFD, TQM, ISO, etc)**
**Primarily Quality Involvement**
**Compliance**
**Quality Focused **
**Quality as a Discipline**

**Process Based and Outcome Based (RBAM, PBMA, CRM,  DDP, PV, IA, COFR, Systems Engineering, Process Control, other/all)**
**Involvement by Quality, and others such as Engineering, Procurement, Finance.**
**Compliance and Capability**
**Quality and Mission Success**
**Quality As a Discipline and as a Function**

**Increasing Emphasis**

## What are the Quality Challenges?

**Workforce Constraints**
**Numbers**
**Knowledge, Skills, and Ability**
**Budget Constraints/Travel Constraints**
**Schedule Constraints**
**Contract Constraints**
**Paramount Priority for Safety**

***No matter what role you have in the Agency, you have experienced these challenges.***

## How Will Risk Management Help Quality To Meet These Challenges?

**Risk management helps to:**
**Prioritize limited quality resources **
**Increase quality emphasis in risk areas**
**Tailor quality requirements to individual needs**
**Ensure quality is built into the product/processes**
**Communicate quality concerns**
**Ensure quality is integrated into the management process**

***Combining good quality with good risk management can significantly improve the likelihood of safety and mission success.***

## Summary

**NASA faces significant challenges in the exploration of air and space.**
**Things must work right, the first time and every time.  Quality is a critical element of NASA’s ability to achieve its objectives.**
**The Quality Leadership Forum plays an important role in improving the Agency’s capabilities in quality.**