NASA and the U.S. Navy signed a Memorandum of Agreement
to exchange valuable vendor and supplier information aimed at
improving safety, mission assurance, and performance of the
systems procured by both.
This agreement is the first in a series under development to
identify and use the “best of the best” safety and
engineering practices of each organization.
NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe recognized many similarities
between human space flight programs and submarine operations.
Administrator O’Keefe wrote a letter to Navy
Secretary Gordon England in July 2002, and in August 2002,
the NASA/Navy Benchmarking Exchange Team was formed.
“A commitment to safety is built on a foundation of best
practices and strong leadership,” said Administrator O’Keefe.
“This important exchange of ideas, processes, and procedures
will play a significant role in a meaningful evolution of our
technical and safety assessments as we return to flight,” he
said.
This agreement allows NASA to use the Navy’s Product Data
Reporting and Evaluation Program and its Red/Yellow/Green
Program, both of which are web-accessible to both
organizations. NASA will provide the Navy with access to
systems used to assess the quality of vendors and suppliers.
For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:
