Kennedy Space Center

GAO reviewed allegations of potentially wasteful duplication of photographic services at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. NASA's decision to transfer some photography work from the photographic support contractor to the shuttle processing, payload ground operations, and base operations contractors was an attempt to hold the three contractors more fully accountable for accomplishing their missions. Most of the photography in question is a minor duty of quality assurance personnel, who work with easy-to-use cameras. According to NASA's Inspector General, it would be more expensive to have the photographs taken by the contractor. Engineers who use the photographs are generally satisfied with their quality, and, in cases in which NASA believes that it needs professional-quality photographs, it can have the contractor take them.

GAO found that: (1) NASA decided to include photography requirements in its mission contracts to make those contractors fully accountable for the cost, schedule, and technical management of their respective missions; (2) any impediment to accomplishing the contractors' missions could result in costly delays; (3) transferring photographic responsibility to the mission contractors has reduced work stoppages, delays, and has been cost-effective; (4) the added costs of having the mission contractors establish their own photographic capabilities were more than offset by cost reductions associated with the downsizing of the photographic support contractor's work force; (5) costs associated with the mission contractors' photography were relatively small and included the costs for the time employees spend taking the photographs, film processing costs, the cost of purchasing cameras and other photographic equipment; and (6) the shuttle processing contractor has taken steps to improve the quality of closeout photographs and the engineers who use the photographs consider the current quality acceptable.