United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Office of the Comptroller General author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-01-01 monographic deposited born digital 37 p. GA 1.13:OCG-99-18 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18 P0b002ee18039b2d4 f:cg99018 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18 OCG-99-18 Management information systems Interagency relations Financial management Contract administration Cost control Schedule slippages Space exploration Accountability Risk management Strategic planning NASA International Space Station Program Russia NASA Integrated Financial Management Project Management Plan NASA Procurement Quality Assessment Initiative Japan Canada Performance and Accountability Series 1999 Letter Report OCG As part of its Performance and Accountability Series, GAO provided information on the major management challenges and program risks facing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).<p/>GAO noted that: (1) NASA's contract management function encompasses several processes, including financial management and oversight; (2) both of these processes require accurate and reliable information; (3) however, NASA lacks adequate systems and processes to oversee procurement activities and to produce accurate and reliable management information in a timely manner; (4) characterized as one of the most challenging engineering feats ever attempted, the International Space Station Program is expected to culminate in 2004 in a football field-sized laboratory manned by up to seven crew members; (5) however, until the space station is completed, NASA will continue to face challenges in controlling the cost and schedule of the program; (6) in May 1998, GAO reported that since 1995, the life cycle cost for the station had increased almost +$2 billion, to $95.6 billion; (7) at the time of GAO's report, the final assembly date of the station had slipped from June 2002 to December 2003; (8) NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD) agreed in 1996 to form joint working groups for aerospace test facilities to coordinate investments to avoid unnecessary duplication, coordinate test schedules to spread workload across the facilities, and develop standardized business processes; (9) however, the agencies' promise of closer cooperation and the development of a national perspective on aerospace test facilities remains largely unfulfilled because NASA and DOD: (a) have not convened most joint test facility working groups on a regular basis; (b) have competed with each other to test engines for new rockets; and (c) have not prepared a congressionally required joint plan on rocket propulsion test facilities; (10) NASA has made progress in meeting these challenges; (11) in the contract management area, although it has made some progress in developing systems to correct contract management weaknesses, NASA still has not implemented its integrated financial management system; (12) regarding space station challenges, the final assembly date has slipped to July 2004; (13) the prime contractor's performance and Russia's problems with funding its portion contributed to the cost increase and schedule delay in the space station program; (14) NASA and DOD have agreed to go beyond cooperative working groups in aeronautics and jointly manage their aeronautical test facilities; (15) however, they have not reached agreement on key aspects of a management organization; and (16) GAO's review of NASA's 1999 annual performance plan found that the agency did not recognize major management challenges. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18/html/GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18/pdf/GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18.pdf GAO/OCG-99-18 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-OCG-99-18 Letter Report GAO/OCG-99-18; Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Management information systems Interagency relations Financial management Contract administration Cost control Schedule slippages Space exploration Accountability Risk management Strategic planning NASA International Space Station Program Russia NASA Integrated Financial Management Project Management Plan NASA Procurement Quality Assessment Initiative Japan Canada Performance and Accountability Series 1999