Weather Satellites

GAO discussed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) cooperative arrangement for developing the next generation of geostationary weather satellites, GOES-Next, focusing on: (1) cost, schedule, and technical problems; and (2) alternatives available to NOAA to remedy those problems. GAO noted that: (1) since NOAA submitted the fiscal year (FY) 1991 budget, the total estimated funding requirements increased from $1.3 billion to over $1.7 billion; (2) the first scheduled launch date of GOES-Next slipped from June 1991 to December 1992, a 3-year delay since the original June 1989 launch date; (3) reasons for past and present program difficulties included design complexity, inadequate technical management, and poor contractor coordination and workmanship; (4) the United States could experience a lack of geostationary satellite coverage if the GOES-7, the sole geostationary weather satellite now in operation, fails before GOES-Next or a replacement satellite is in orbit; (5) by February 1993, the forecast uses of GOES-7 will begin to degrade even if it remains operational, and some uses will be lost by August 1993, since a replacement satellite will not be available until late FY 1992; and (6) because of continuing problems in the GOES-Next program, NOAA began to consider delaying the program and procuring one or more foreign-owned GOES-7 satellites.