Posted on September 28, 2011, at 1:11 pm .
Tea Party in Space White Paper
Space Launch System Procurement Could Violate CICA
September 2011
Subject: De Facto Sole Sourcing of Space Launch System Would Violate Law
Summary: A violation of 41 U.S.C. 253 (the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984) will occur if NASA moves ahead with a decision to avoid full and open competition by implementing “de facto sole source awards” on the Space Launch System, which will cost anywhere from $111 to $322 billion in taxpayer funds, and potentially much more.
Continue reading ‘TPIS Releases White Paper in Support of SLS Review’
Posted on July 27, 2010, at 11:33 am .
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report saying that NASA acted legally in its efforts on the Constellation lunar program. Congressional appropriators had called for investigation, saying that the Administration was illegally attempting to shut down the program in violation of a law requiring Congressional approval.
Continue reading ‘GAO: NASA Acted Legally in Constellation Actions’
Posted on December 23, 2009, at 1:58 pm .
International Space Station
The Government Accountability Office has found that after spending a quarter century planning and building the International Space Station, NASA may not be able to fully use the facility for space research because of a lack of transportation, funding and organization.
Continue reading ‘GAO: NASA Faces Significant Challenges in Conducting ISS Research’
Posted on December 6, 2009, at 2:15 pm .
The Federal Aviation Administration faces a number of key challenges in overseeing the growing commercial space launch industry, according to a Government Accountability report released last week.
These include maintaining a sufficient number of staff with the necessary expertise to oversee the safety of launches and spaceport operations; determining whether FAA’s current safety regulations are appropriate for all types of commercial space vehicles, operations, and launch sites; developing information to help FAA decide when to regulate crew and passenger safety after 2012; and continuing to avoid conflicts between FAA’s regulatory and promotional roles.
Continue reading ‘GAO: FAA Facing Oversight Challenges as Commercial Space Sector Grows’
Posted on September 26, 2009, at 12:26 pm .
Ares 1-X undergoing assembly
Nearly six years after President George W. Bush launched the program, NASA’s Constellation program still lacks a sound business case, a defined schedule, and clear cost estimates. So says the Government Accountability Office in a new report titled, “Constellation Program Cost and Schedule Will Remain Uncertain Until a Sound Business Case Is Established.”
Continue reading ‘GAO: Constellation’s Cost, Schedule Remain Uncertain’
Posted on May 9, 2009, at 1:23 pm .
The Government Accountability Office has released a document that explains why it denied PlanetSpace’s appeal of NASA’s decision to award commercial launch contracts to SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation.
Continue reading ‘GAO: PlanetSpace Appeal Rejected Due to Subcontracting, Financial Concerns’
Posted on April 28, 2009, at 12:16 am .
Artist's conception of OSC's Taurus II rocket at Wallops Island.
Jack Kennedy has a couple of posts about the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on his Spaceports blog:
Democratic gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Creigh Deeds endorsed increased operational funding to enhance the staff size of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport today speaking at the Southwestern Virginia Technology Council Energy Technology Summit as interest in the fledgling commercial space operations increases among the Virginia public.
Continue reading ‘Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates Endorse More Funding for Wallops Island’
Posted on March 3, 2009, at 11:09 am .
GAO: NASA projects late and over budget
Florida Today
Ten out of 13 large-scale NASA projects that cost $250 million or more exceed their budget, on average, by 13 percent, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. Those same projects also have an average launch delay of 11 months.
Continue reading ‘GAO Says NASA Projects Often Late, Over Budget’
Posted on April 27, 2008, at 1:27 pm .
Below is an excerpt from a GAO Report titled, “NASA: Challenges in Completing and Sustaining the International Space Station,” that was presented to Congress last week. The except offers a succinct explanation of NASA’s COTS program and the challenges it faces over the next few years. As you will see, GAO is not real optimistic…
“NASA is working with the commercial space sector through its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to develop and produce vehicles that can take equipment and crew to and from the space station. NASA expects that these vehicles will be ready for cargo use in 2010 and crew use in 2012. However, these vehicles have yet to be successfully launched into orbit, and some NASA officials have acknowledged that their development schedules leave little room for the unexpected.
“Under the COTS program, NASA has pledged $500 million to promote commercial opportunities for space transportation vehicles. Using Space Act agreements instead of traditional contracting mechanisms, NASA will make payments to companies based on the achievement of key milestones during the development of their vehicles. These agreements are both funded and unfunded. For the two funded agreements that have been reached, NASA stated that the commercial suppliers for space transportation services will have customers outside of ISS, including NASA’s Constellation program, which plans to send humans back to the moon and eventually Mars. The COTS program will occur in phases. In the first phase companies will demonstrate the vehicle launch and docking capabilities with the ISS. The second phase is the procurement of services for transportation of cargo and crew to the ISS, which is scheduled to begin sometime in the 2010 time frame.
Continue reading ‘Construction Ahead: Expect Delays’
Posted on April 25, 2008, at 10:57 pm .
Having spent near a quarter century and $100 billion on the International Space Station, NASA may have significant problems completing the orbital outpost by 2010 and supporting it after the agency retires the space shuttle the same year.
That is the rather dour assessment delivered by the Government Accountability Office during a Congressional hearing on Thursday. GAO’s Cristina Chaplain said NASA’s station completion plans”require much to happen and very little to go wrong” over the next two years. Once the agency completes station construction, it will retire the space shuttle.
Chaplain said NASA will have a difficult time replacing the shuttle’s large payload capacity. The significant “shortfall in (NASA’s) ability to provide logistical support to the station … may well impact support for a six-person crew and the quality of the research that can be conducted,” she said.
NASA officials disagreed, expressing confidence that they can finish the station in two years and keep the facility supplied with a mixture of Russian, Japanese and European vehicles. The space agency also is funding development of commercial resupply ships under its COTS program.
There’s more about GAO’s report and NASA’s response below:
GAO Report (PDF Document)
Shuttle’s retirement could leave space station lacking support
Orlando Sentinel
Shuttles’ end may leave space station out in the cold
Houston Chronicle
Report: Supplying ISS will be difficult
Florida Today
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