The U.S. Government is unhappy with NASA for several reasons. They claim that the space agency has gone over budget on several projects.
NASA Goes To Washington
On Thursday, June 14, NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin and NASA Associate Administrator Steven Jurczyk faced off against lawmakers regarding the space agency. This intense meeting was a hearing with Congresspeople that were on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. The purpose of the meeting involved the committee determining the cause of several budgetary problems that the space agency faced.
Last month, the Government Accountability Office released a new report that NASA was facing a crisis regarding several overbudgeted projects. While the costs were not revealed to the public, the auditing and investigative agency stated that several essential space missions were an average of 12 months behind its scheduled completion date. According to the report, this was the worst performance in a decade.
The Four Problematic Projects
The GAO identified four projects that have caused the space agency to lose focus and not complete a proper turnaround completion dates. The plans were the James Webb Space Telescope, the Commercial Crew Program, the Space Launch System, and the Orion Crew Vehicle. The James Webb Space Telescope, which was supposed to replace the Hubble Space Telescope, not only went $7 billion over budget, but also faced problems in testing stages.
The Commercial Crew Program was supposed to be finished last year, but the GAO predicts that contractors Boeing and SpaceX could delay the program further until 2019. The Space Launch System, which will send astronauts to Mars, was supposed to have a test launch this year. However, insiders believe that it would launch in 2020. Also, NASA officials told the GAO that they were uncertain how much the Orion Crew Vehicle would cost once it is completed.
"If space exploration is going to continue to earn the public's trust, then contractors will have to deliver on time and on budget," said Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), who chairs the committee to USA Today.
NASA Rebuttals
Martin told the committee that NASA investigated the reasons why the projects were delayed. He noted that the space agency's optimistic culture, project manager turnover, underestimating complex technicalities involved in the project, and funding instability all caused these problems. Meanwhile, Jurczyk defended the space agency and added that it created the Joint Confidence Level in 2009. Its purpose is to help NASA predict the cost and scheduling of programs.
Also, Jurczyk pointed out that NASA works on unique projects. He noted that the Space Launch System would be used to give humans the opportunity to travel deep into space. He also pointed out that the James Webb Space Telescope will have the ability to compartmentalize itself when it is millions of miles above the Earth.
