Space Exploration
Cost, Schedule, and Performance of NASA's Magellan Mission to Venus Gao ID: NSIAD-88-130FS May 27, 1988Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information regarding the cost, schedule, performance, and status of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Magellan mission to Venus.
GAO found that NASA: (1) estimated a total mission project cost of $294.6 million in 1984; (2) increased its estimate to $513.5 million in October 1987 due to launch delays and instrument development problems; (3) changed its launch date from April 1988 to April 1989, with the spacecraft's estimated arrival at Venus scheduled for August 1990; (4) believes that the mission will end in April 1991, 2 years later than originally planned; and (5) expects to achieve its objective of mapping at least 70 percent of the Venus surface.