United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-09-17 monographic deposited born digital 25 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-1020 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020 P0b002ee1803809da f:d021020 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020 GAO-02-1020 Aerospace industry Aerospace research Cost control Interagency relations Internal controls Space exploration Transportation costs Transportation research NASA Space Launch Initiative NASA X-33 Program NASA X-34 Program Other Written Product A05087 In 2001, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began undertaking a new effort--the Space Launch Initiative (SLI)--to develop a new generation of space transportation vehicles. SLI is expected to result in development of the second generation of reusable launch vehicles, the space shuttle being the first generation. NASA plans to define basic requirements for its second-generation reusable launch vehicle--that is, what the crew size will be, what the payload capacity will be, and what designs or architectures are worth pursuing--by November 2002. However, considerable challenges must be addressed before NASA can accomplish this. First, NASA has to complete a reassessment of its overall space transportation plans. Second, NASA is currently reassessing the future of the International Space Station. The decisions it will make as part of this evaluation, such as how many crew will operate the station, will have a dramatic impact on NASA's requirements for a second-generation vehicle. Third, NASA needs to decide whether the SLI program will be developed jointly with the Department of Defense (DOD) and, if so, how can it accommodate DOD's requirements for a reusable launch vehicle. Until NASA finalizes its basic requirements for SLI, it cannot implement management controls that are essential to predicting what the total costs of the program will be and to minimizing the risks with NASA's planned initial investment of $4.8 billion. It is important for NASA to implement management controls for SLI as soon as possible, so that it can provide its managers and Congress with the information needed to ensure that the program is on track and able to meet expectations. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020.pdf GAO-02-1020 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-1020 Other Written Product GAO-02-1020; Space Transportation: Challenges Facing NASA's Space Launch Initiative; Aerospace industry Aerospace research Cost control Interagency relations Internal controls Space exploration Transportation costs Transportation research NASA Space Launch Initiative NASA X-33 Program NASA X-34 Program