Space Shuttle

NASA plans to use the space shuttle on 21 flights during a five-year period to assemble the space station. As a result, the shuttle will have to be substantially redesigned to gain additional lift capability. NASA's plans for increasing the shuttle's lift capability are complex and challenging, involving about 30 separate steps, including hardware redesigns, improved navigational or flight design techniques, and new operational procedures. Some of the hardware redesign programs have experienced early development problems, and the potential exists for further difficulties. NASA's schedule for meeting the space station's launch requirements appears questionable--particularly during a period of shrinking budgets. Delays in the launch schedule could substantially boost the space station's cost. Under the shuttle's modification and launch enhancement program, NASA will defer some recertification activities and will forgo full integration testing of the propulsion system. NASA plans to assess the implications of the design changes through a combination of tanking and component tests and systems analysis. Given the magnitude and complexity of the shuttle enhance program, GAO urges additional measures to ensure that (1) the implications of integrating many individual design changes are fully understood and (2) safety is not compromised.

GAO found that: (1) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) plans for increasing the shuttle's lift capability are complex and involve about 30 individual actions such as hardware redesigns, improved flight design techniques, and new operational procedures; (2) some of the hardware redesign programs have experienced early development problems, and the potential exists for additional problems; (3) the NASA schedule for meeting the space station's launch requirements appears questionable in the declining budget environment; (4) NASA must successfully complete numerous shuttle-related development programs on a tight schedule to support the first space station launch; (5) the remaining launch schedule is compressed and will be difficult to achieve without additional funding or more efficient processing methods; (6) delays in the launch schedule could substantially increase the station's cost; (7) NASA plans to forgo some of the shuttle's recertification activities and full integration testing of the propulsion system until the first launch of station components; (8) NASA plans to assess the implications of the design changes through a combination of tanking and component tests and systems analyses; and (9) NASA must ensure that the implications of integrating numerous individual design changes are fully understood and safety is not compromised.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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