Russ DeLoach, NASA’s chief of Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA), recently presented seven employees with “Yes, If” awards to recognize their instrumental roles in support of NASA’s mission. Two NASA retirees also received "Yes, If" awards.

Dan Berlin, Space Launch Systems (SLS) critical systems program manager for Syncom Space Services at Michoud Assembly Facility, received the “Yes, If” award in recognition of his positive approach to managing the refurbishment of the Ederer crane in Michoud Building 110.

Joseph (Joe) Irons, director of Facilities Management for the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility, and Roger Harris, Space Launch Systems (SLS) IV&V project manager, received “Yes, If” coins for their instrumental roles in support of IV&V’s mission.

In today’s complex aerospace and defense programs, the cost of late-stage quality interventions continues to be a major contributor to schedule delays, rework and elevated risk. The white paper “Contracting Quality Early in the Program Lifecycle,” prepared by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) in collaboration with industry and government quality leaders, advocates for a critical shift: embedding Quality Assurance (QA) requirements at the very start of a program.