NASA: Constellation Program Cost and Schedule Will Remain Uncertain Until a Sound Business Case Is Established
GAO-09-844
Published: Aug 26, 2009. Publicly Released: Sep 25, 2009.
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Highlights
NASA's Constellation program is developing the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle and the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle as the agency's first major efforts in a plan to return to the moon and eventually send humans to Mars. GAO has issued a number of reports and testimonies on various aspects of this program, and made several recommendations. GAO was asked to assess NASA's progress in implementing GAO's recommendations for the Ares I and Orion projects, and identify risks the program faces. GAO analyzed NASA plans and schedules, risk mitigation information, and contract performance data relative to knowledge-based acquisition practices identified in prior GAO reports, and interviewed government officials and contractors.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | The new NASA Administrator should direct the Constellation program, or its successor, to develop a sound business case--supported by firm requirements, mature technologies, a preliminary design, a realistic cost estimate, and sufficient funding and time--before proceeding into implementation, and, if necessary, delay the preliminary design review until a sound business case demonstrating the program's readiness to move forward into implementation is in hand. | Subsequent to the issuance of our report, the Augustine Commission, a blue ribbon panel of experts chaired by Norm Augustine and stood up by the President to advise him on NASA's manned space program issued a report that mirrored GAO's findings. The Augustine Committee found that Constellation key milestones were slipping, that the program would not return humans back to the moon in any reasonable time or within any affordable cost, and that far more funding was needed to successfully implement the Constellation program. The President and the NASA Administrator agreed with the findings of the Augustine Commission. NASA's fiscal year 2011 budget request canceled the Constellation program,... effectively delaying the program's entry into the implementation phase of development, and laid out NASA's plans for moving forward. These plans, however, have not been well received by the Congress. Congress in the FY2010 Omnibus appropriation Act prohibited NASA from using FY 2010 funding appropriated to terminate the Constellation program. Numerous compromise proposals have been advocated by interested parties within and outside NASA and the Congress. Deliberations on NASA's future plans for manned spaceflight are likely to continue into calendar year 2011 when NASA submits its fiscal year 2012 budget request.
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Cost analysisCost overrunsFederal agenciesFederal fundsFunds managementOperational testingPerformance measuresProcurement planningProgram evaluationProgram managementRequirements definitionRisk assessmentRisk factorsRisk managementSafety standardsSchedule slippagesSpace explorationStrategic planningSystems design