Aerospace Testing

NASA and the Defense Department run several types of aerospace test facilities, including wind tunnels and rocket engine test stands. Since the end of the Cold War, Congress has been appropriating less money for aerospace programs. In response to shrinking budgets and reductions in personnel, NASA and DOD agreed in 1995 to cooperate in performing essential aerospace testing. In 1996, the agencies suggested establishing joint working groups to assess and make recommendations on investments and other issues. This report reviews efforts by NASA and DOD since then to develop a national perspective on aerospace test facilities. GAO discusses (1) the extent to which NASA/DOD working groups on major test facilities have been operating on a regular basis, (2) NASA's and DOD's actions in response to a future need to test an engine for new Air Force rockets, (3) whether NASA and DOD prepared a congressionally required joint plan on rocket propulsion test facilities, and (4) whether NASA and DOD are implementing a DOD assessment team's recommendation to jointly manage certain aeronautical test facilities with NASA.

GAO noted that: (1) the promise of closer NASA/DOD cooperation and the development of a national perspective on aerospace test facilities remains largely unfulfilled because NASA and DOD: (a) have not yet convened most test facility alliances; (b) compete with each other to test engines for new rockets; and (c) did not prepare a congressionally required joint plan on rocket propulsion test facilities; (2) although NASA and DOD have agreed to go beyond cooperative alliances in aeronautics and jointly manage their aeronautical test facilities, they have not yet reached agreement on key aspects of management organization; (3) NASA and DOD took 20 months (May 1996 through December 1997) to negotiate and sign agreements formally establishing the six test facility-related cooperative alliances; (4) despite the formation of the rocket propulsion alliance, NASA and DOD compete against each other to test engines for new rocket programs; (5) a principal arena of competition is the next phase of the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program; (6) DOD did not prepare a legislatively mandated joint plan with NASA to coordinate rocket propulsion test facilities; (7) in a letter to congressional committee chairs and other members, DOD said that the bases of such a plan are: (a) ongoing activities such as Vision 21; (b) the May 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review of defense strategy; and (c) activities of the rocket propulsion alliance; (8) however, these efforts are unlikely to form the basis of a joint plan because NASA is not participating in either Vision 21 or the Defense Review; (9) in October 1997, NASA and Air Force officials took a step toward creating a national perspective on test facilities in the aeronautics area; (10) specifically, they reached an understanding on the scope and approach for joint strategic management of their aeronautical test facilities, including a new management organization; (11) however, they have not yet resolved basic issues, such as the organization's structure and authority; and (12) ultimately, if joint strategic management of aeronautics test facilities is successfully established, its adaption to other types of test facilities could be considered.

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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