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United States General Accounting OfficeBiblio.com

Space Project Testing; Uniform Policies and Added Controls Would Strengthen Testing Activities GAO/NSIAD-91-248

1991Best.-Nr. 91339Washington DC: United States General Accounting Office 1991. Presumed First Edition First Printing. Wraps. Very good. 41 3 pages. Footnotes. Illustrations. Tabular data. This is a "Report to the Chairman Subcommittee on Science Technology and Space Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation U.S. Senate". Pursuant to a congressional request GAO reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's NASA testing activities focusing on: 1 the adequacy of the NASA testing policies and practices; 2 NASA oversight of contractor testing; and 3 the adequacy of resources available for testing. In April 1990 NASA deployed its $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope to an orbit 380 miles above the earth. Soon after the agency discovered that the telescope's primary mirror was manufactured in the wrong shape severely degrading its scientific capabilities. The flaw was not detected before the telescope was launched because the mirror was not adequately tested. The Chairman Subcommittee on Science Technology and Space Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation asked GAO to review NASA'S testing activities. Specifically GAO'S objectives were to assess the adequacy of testing policies and practices and the agency's oversight of contractor testing and to determine whether sufficient resources existed for testing. Because space missions are inherently risky systems cannot be easily repaired while in orbit and failures are widely publicized it is especially important that the systems' performance be thoroughly tested before launch. These complex systems are usually acquired in very limited quantities and test programs are specifically tailored for each project. According to a NASA team appointed to investigate the Hubble failure mirror tests were inadequately planned and poorly analyzed. The team further noted that NASA did not provide adequate oversight of the contractor's test program. Testing has varied from project to project. The success of many of NASA'S recent space projects indicates that in many cases testing was adequate. Tests were not effective however in detecting the Hubble mirror flaw. In other cases launch schedules have been adversely affected because tests did not identify problems soon enough. Testing practices vary because NASA has no uniform policies governing testing. Existing guidance is fragmented not well defined and varies from one NASA field center to another. In some cases hardware designed for the same mission may be tested to different standards. All centers have oversight controls to help ensure that contractors properly plan and conduct tests and report the results. Controls at some centers however could be further strengthened. Also according to a recent National Academy of Public Administration study NASA needs to retain more of its research and development work in-house to give civil service personnel the experience necessary to adequately oversee agency contractors. No standard exists for determining the amount of resources that should be devoted to testing but according to NASA officials resources are normally sufficient to conduct essential tests. However project managers must sometimes make cost-risk tradeoffs when defining the scope and extent of testing programs. Further some in-house test facilities and equipment need upgrading. United States General Accounting Office paperback

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