United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-06-24 monographic deposited born digital 37 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-97-130 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130 P0b002ee180385cd5 f:ns97130 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130 NSIAD-97-130 Satellites Defense cost control Military procurement Concurrency Aerospace industry Defense contracts Product performance evaluation Defense conversion Testing DOD Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program Defense Satellite Communications System Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Defense Support Program DOD Space-Based Infrared Satellite Program Letter Report NSIAD

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) progress in acquiring the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), focusing on: (1) factors associated with program cost, schedule, and performance; and (2) selected aspects of EELV's relationship to the commercial launch vehicle market.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) reducing the cost of launching satellites into orbit is the paramount objective of the EELV program; (2) however, DOD faces many program risks in making the transition to EELV that could increase costs, cause schedule delays, and possibly jeopardize some satellite schedules and missions; (3) EELV development is less than 25 percent complete, and DOD has about 1 year to address these risks before proceeding into engineering and manufacturing development which is scheduled for June 1998; (4) with several billion dollars at stake, risk mitigation efforts are essential; (5) cost risk is inherent in the current acquisition plan because EELV production could be initiated from 1 to 2 years before the first system development test flight; (6) pursuing such a strategy could result in costly modifications to the production vehicles because historically, most launch systems have had several failures during their early flight period; (7) also, existing satellite programs expect to incur at least $117 million in added costs as a result of the transition to EELV, and these costs are not included in the Office of Secretary of Defense or Air Force cost estimates for the EELV program; (8) there are schedule risks that could seriously affect the EELV program; (9) as currently planned, DOD will purchase the last of its existing expendable launch vehicles before the first EELV system development test flight is scheduled to occur; (10) an unsuccessful test flight, coupled with the expiration of existing vehicle contracts, could create a void in the government's launch capability; (11) DOD has not developed contingency plans to address this potential risk to national security and civil satellite schedules and missions; (12) however, it did indicate that commercial launch vehicles could be used for an emergency procurement in the event of an EELV failure or schedule delay; (13) the Air Force has identified the meeting of launch facility preparation schedules as a significant program risk; (14) in addition, there are technical issues that raise concerns about potential EELV performance; (15) the Air Force has identified vehicle propulsion, systems integration, and software as technical risk areas; (16) the commercial application of EELV poses a unique situation for the government; (17) the space industry expects a large international market for commercial satellites, particularly communication satellites, and t* https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130.pdf GAO/NSIAD-97-130 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-97-130 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-97-130; Access to Space: Issues Associated With DOD's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program; Satellites Defense cost control Military procurement Concurrency Aerospace industry Defense contracts Product performance evaluation Defense conversion Testing DOD Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Program Defense Satellite Communications System Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Defense Support Program DOD Space-Based Infrared Satellite Program Title 10 Section 2434 10 U.S.C. 2434 Public Law 103-160 Public Law 103-335