Space Surveillance

DOD and NASA Need Consolidated Requirements and a Coordinated Plan Gao ID: NSIAD-98-42 December 1, 1997

Manned spacecraft, such as the space shuttle and the proposed space station, are threatened by millions of piece of debris now orbiting the earth. The military's space surveillance system, however, is not capable of providing NASA with the information it needs to accurately predict potentially deadly collisions. The Defense Department's (DOD) plans to modernize an existing surveillance network radar system and to develop three new ballistic warning systems do not adequately consider DOD's or NASA's surveillance needs. These four systems are managed separately by the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army. Despite NASA's dependency on DOD to provide information on space objects, the 1996 National Space Policy makes no provision for an interagency mechanism--either organizational or funding--to ensure that DOD's surveillance capabilities satisfy NASA's requirements. Overall, no authoritative direction, formal agreement, or clear plan exists on how DOD and NASA could consolidate their space surveillance requirements for a common capability.

GAO noted that: (1) DOD's existing space surveillance network is not capable of providing the information NASA needs to adequately predict collisions between space objects orbiting the earth and multibillion dollar space programs like the space station; (2) the existing network cannot satisfy DOD's emerging space surveillance requirements, which are currently under review; (3) DOD's plans--to modernize an existing surveillance network radar system and develop three new ballistic missile warning systems that could contribute to performing the surveillance function--do not adequately consider DOD's or NASA's surveillance requirements; (4) these four systems are separately managed by the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army; (5) an opportunity exists to consider these systems' potential capabilities to enhance the surveillance network to better satisfy requirements and achieve greater benefits from planned investment in space sensor technology; (6) despite NASA's dependency on DOD to provide space object information, the 1996 National Space Policy makes no provision for an interagency mechanism--either organizational or funding--to ensure that DOD's surveillance capabilities satisfy NASA's requirements; (7) overall, there is no authoritative direction, formal agreement, or clear plan on how DOD and NASA could consolidate their space surveillance requirements for a common capability; (8) a coordinated interagency plan that considers all existing and planned space surveillance capabilities could be beneficial in making cost-effective decisions to satisfy a consolidated set of national security and civil space surveillance requirements; (9) unless DOD and NASA can agree on such a plan, an opportunity may be missed to simultaneously: (a) achieve efficiencies; (b) better ensure the safety of the planned multibillion dollar space station; and (c) help satisfy national security needs, including the U.S. forces' future needs for space asset information.

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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