Testimony by Sean O’Keefe on NASA’s FY 2003 Budget before the House Science Committee (Part 1)
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
It is a great honor for me to appear before you today in my new capacity as NASA Administrator. As you know, this is my first hearing in this role, and I look forward to working with this Committee as, together, we help shape the future of NASA.
It has been said by many – and I agree – that NASA is a “crown jewel” of the Federal Government. I have used that description many times as I have traveled around the country these past eight weeks visiting all of NASA’s primary centers of operation. But I have also learned, as I have met and visited with NASA’s employees and contractor support personnel, that, while NASA may be a “crown jewel” of the Federal Government the “crown jewels” of NASA are its people.
I have heard and felt their excitement and seen their technical and scientific competence first hand, and it has instilled in me a great sense of pride – and a good measure of humility – to have been given the opportunity, not only to join them in this storied Agency, but to lead it.
My testimony today will catalogue the vast and varied range and scope of NASA’s current undertakings and describe some of the many important advances and achievements accomplished during the past year. It will summarize the President’s FY 2003 Budget Request, for which we are seeking authorization. It will not, however, attempt to chart the full course of the future for NASA or the Nation’s space program. It will not do so, because I believe that must be a collaborative undertaking, joined in by the leadership and the people of NASA, the NASA and scientific advisory communities, the interested individuals and organizations among our citizenry, our aerospace community, other agencies and offices within the Executive Branch, our international partners and, importantly, those Members and Committees of the Congress with jurisdiction over and interest in the future activities and budgets of the Nation’s space program.
As I begin my tenure as Administrator, you will see me take steps to reach out to all of these communities of interest to help us chart the course for the future, at the same time we are addressing the important and pressing challenges before us today. I will return to this Committee, both formally and informally, to seek your input and guidance as stewards of the public trust and partners in the fulfillment of our shared responsibilities for the future space policy of this Nation.
NASA was created as an agency of the Government: to do those things that are beyond the horizons and capabilities of individuals and the private sector in the realm of aeronautics and space exploration; to develop and demonstrate capabilities and possibilities that, quite simply, would not be done if we did not undertake them. In so doing, we often go where no one has gone before, and in that effort there are risks and uncertainties. But we have a responsibility to our ultimate stakeholders – the taxpayers – to make every effort to manage those risks and understand those uncertainties. The FY 2003 budget that we present to you today reflects the Administration’s commitment to fulfill those obligations. It builds on the current budget and policies to give us all greater confidence in the directions we are taking with our existing programs, such as the International Space Station.
The President’s budget proposal of $15.1 billion (including full funding of Federal retiree costs) for fiscal year 2003 also reflects the Administration’s commitment to NASA’s core research efforts and its fundamental mandate to advance aeronautics and aerospace science and technology, and initiates exciting new efforts in the realms of space transportation and propulsion. It builds upon our abilities to measure and understand our home planet and the natural–and unnatural–forces that shape our environment. I believe it is a well-balanced and progressive budget that allows us to set the stage for the future directions that – together – we will define.
FY 2003 Budget Request Detail:
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is without precedent in the history of the U.S. space program. The ISS Program has had a year of spectacular technical achievement, which includes ground preparation and checkout, launch integration, and on-orbit assembly and operations. In the unique environment of space combined with research, exploration, human innovation and creativity, the ISS holds the potential to forever improve the quality of life on Earth. Soaring overhead every ninety minutes is the largest human-engineered object ever to orbit the Earth; a fully functioning international spacecraft with contributions from almost all of the international partners and a fourth Expedition crew currently conducting 26 research investigations, operating the onboard systems, and participating in the ongoing assembly and outfitting of the space station. Since the launch of the Service Module (SM) in July 2000 there have been 20 successful U.S. and Russian missions to the ISS.
To date, the ISS Program has achieved remarkable technical successes; however, it has not been equally successful in controlling cost growth. Last year, NASA projected an overrun in the amount needed to complete the space station, as then planned, of up to $4.8 billion. While some of that may be attributable to such factors as inadequate initial requirements definition, added content, late element delivery, development problems leading to cost variance, and a relatively flat annual budget profile rather than the typical bell-curve of a development program, there are clearly areas of fiscal management and program control that need improvement.
The President’s Budget Blueprint for FY 2002 laid the groundwork for attaining cost control and regaining credibility for the program to fulfill its true potential. As a result, a course was prescribed to get cost growth under control and restore confidence in NASA’s cost management, and to achieve the science priorities for which the Nation has made a large investment. We are continuing with the intensive reassessment and review activities that we began last year that followed the blueprint, but did not eliminate the cost challenge. The President’s FY 2003 budget projections include about $500 million of savings that NASA will realize through implementation of identified program initiatives, and a process that continues to seek additional savings while containing the threats to further ISS cost growth. This process allows the balancing of savings and cost threats as NASA continues to achieve U.S. core complete within available resources. While steps taken last year were designed to contain cost growth and to gain better understanding of its source and nature, this year will be one of corrective action–putting in place the right processes, tools, management controls, and measures to improve and evaluate the ISS program.
Thanks to the efforts of the ISS Management and Cost Evaluation (IMCE) Task Force, led by Mr. Thomas Young, we are well along in effecting proper cost controls and regaining credibility. The IMCE Task Force was instituted to perform an independent external review and assessment of cost and budget and provide recommendations on how to ensure that the ISS can provide maximum benefit to the U.S. taxpayers and the international partners within the Administration’s budget request. The Task Force concluded that, while there has been unequivocal technical excellence in the execution of the ISS Program, there must be an equally high level of competency in the management of financial resources for which they are entrusted. I have reviewed the Young team’s recommendations and have endorsed them as a roadmap to improve the ISS Program management. As a result, the ISS management has already taken actions to develop implementation strategies. To maintain continuity while we implement the recommendations provided by the IMCE Task Force (endorsed by the NASA Advisory Council), I have asked Mr. Young and the members of the Task Force to continue to be available in an advisory capacity as we move forward to implement their recommendations and make other necessary changes. I strongly believe that NASA will benefit from their expertise and guidance.
Guiding our efforts at reform and revitalization of the space station program will be the following five points:
The program is vigorously pursuing a clearly defined set of cost requirement and estimation capabilities that will lead to a complete life-cycle cost estimate for remaining space station work and continued operations. As you know from my previous testimony before this Committee, I have been among those most concerned by and critical of the cost challenges facing the ISS, and you can be assured that no stone will remain unturned within the program and the Agency as we seek the answers and capabilities needed to bring this situation under control.1. Research Priorities – Establishing an integrated portfolio of science and technology priorities that maximize the benefits of space-based research within available resources.
2. Engineering Development/Deployment – Development of a program road map that focuses on successfully achieving a “core complete” configuration. Should NASA demonstrate that reforms are implemented and cost credibility is regained, this will enable future decisions towards a requirements-driven “end state” that will, defined in terms of science priorities, allow an expanded research potential for us and our international partners.
3. Cost Estimation and Analysis – The ISS is the largest and most complex program ever pursued by the United States. Implementation of improved methodologies, tools and controls are underway and will allow us to regain credibility and improve our ability in financial forecasting and strategic planning capabilities. These projects will be beneficial across the Agency.
4. International Partnerships – Maintaining cooperative international efforts and reaffirming NASA’s strong commitment in understanding their concerns and continuously working with them in the spirit of cooperation.
5. Mission and Science Operations – Advanced planning for Space Shuttle and ISS operations to maximize the productivity of on-orbit research and ensure the safety of real-time operations.
An important challenge before us is maintaining the ISS international partnerships. Our partners have expressed their concerns stemming from NASA working to first get the fundamentals right to achieve U.S. core complete; and then to identify options beyond U.S. core complete that realize the full potential of the ISS. Although the configuration of the ISS has been modified to meet the cost challenges we face, the fundamental purposes remain — research and international cooperation. To reaffirm NASA’s strong commitment to its international partnerships, I have formed a team to meet with representatives of all our partners to understand their concerns and to work with them in the spirit of cooperation. We seek the same level of excellence in managerial and fiscal performance that we currently demonstrate in the technical realm on orbit.
But there is even more that must be done to achieve the realization of the space station that many on this Committee have fought for many years to support and sustain. I believe that, in addition to addressing the cost challenges of the ISS, we must make a renewed determination of the research goals and on-orbit capabilities that we want the space station to achieve. Our priority should not be to simply build a space station to a specific hardware complement and then seek research and experiments to make use of that hardware. Rather, our emphasis should be on redefining the scientific and technological goals we have for the space station and then shaping the vehicle to enable us to meet those goals. Only when we have agreed on those goals can we be fully equipped to determine what capabilities are needed to achieve them and, more importantly, what resources are needed–whether in crew-time, crew-size, module content or other platforms — and whether committing the funds to make them available is the best investment for advancing NASA’s science and technology objectives.
Space Shuttle
NASA is proud of its historic record of 106 missions and, in particular, the accomplishments of the last year in support of the ISS. Last year, seven Shuttle missions were flown with five of those missions launched during a six-month period. The Shuttle has delivered to the ISS the U.S. Laboratory module; solar arrays for power generation; the ISS robotic arm, Canadarm2; the Joint Airlock that was used to performed the first ISS extra-vehicular-activity; several tons of logistics; and the delivery of three Expedition crews.
However, there are major challenges for the Space Shuttle Program:Ê to structure its cost, technical and operations management processes, procedures, and infrastructure for the future; to meet planned launch requirements within available resources; to prioritize and implement safety upgrades as planned; and, to continue pursuit of competitive sourcing. These challenges will be addressed within the FY 2003 budget request of $3.208 billion, as the Space Shuttle program continues to meets its goals of: 1) flying safely, 2) meeting the manifest, 3) imcts ing supportability, and 4) improving the system.
The budget request reflects an IMCE Task Force recommendation adopted by NASA that reduces the number of Shuttle missions to ISS to four per year. This allows NASA to fund increases in the cost of shuttle operations, while still meeting ISS assembly requirements for core complete in FY 2004. The FY 2003 budget provides for four flights in FY 2003, five flights in FY 2004 (four ISS and one Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission), and four flights per year thereafter. NASA is working to ensure that limiting the flight rate will not have undesirable cost and technical impacts to Agency programs and to determine whether any additional flights are necessary.
During the development of the FY 2003 budget last year, significant cost growth was identified in the FY 2002 baseline Shuttle operations program. To mitigate this growth, NASA cancelled or deferred a number of shuttle upgrades – one of which was experiencing technical difficulties and cost growth. Consistent with the IMCE recommendations for the ISS, NASA reduced the Shuttle flight rate to four which provides additional savings. In addition, NASA Headquarters developed Orbiter Major Modification (OMM) site selection criteria to evaluate the OMM capabilities for both the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Palmdale facility. Safety being the primary objective, NASA evaluated the risks associated with performing OMM at KSC and decided to consolidate OMM operations at the launch site.
The FY 2003 budget request continues to invest in the Space Shuttle to ensure it remains viable for meeting NASA’s needs for at least the next decade. These investments, which total $1.35 billion over the next five years, are an integral part of NASA’s Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP) which also includes investments in the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) for NASA’s next generation reusable space transportation system. Space Shuttle investments include $148 million for high priority safety improvements for the Space Shuttle ($596 million over five years), $93 million for Space Shuttle supportability upgrades ($410 million over five years), and a $76 million investment in revitalizing the aging Shuttle infrastructure ($340 million over five years). Ê
Funding is provided to continue work on several of the planned safety upgrades. Specifically funded in this request are the Cockpit Avionics Upgrade (CAU), the Advanced Health Management System (AHMS) and the External Tank Friction Stir Weld. The CAU will enhance crew situational awareness and reduced crew workload. The AHMS will improve the monitoring of engine performance in real-time; Phase I of this has been approved for first flight in 2004. The External Tank (ET) project office is implementing friction stir weld technology that improves flight safety by increasing barrel reliability for weld joint strength. ET manufacturing processing time and procedures will also decrease and improve, respectively, because of this upgrade. Finally, several “Industrial Engineering for Safety” projects (work tools, processes, infrastructure enhancements) have been identified and are proceeding towards approval and implementation.
The Space Shuttle is a national resource, and is the only U.S. vehicle that can launch humans into space and return experiments fromorbit. A replacement vehicle for human transportation to space is not expected for at least another 10 years. Since the early 1990s, NASA has reduced the annual budget for the Space Shuttle by approximately 40 percent (adjusted for inflation) by completing major upgrades (such as the advanced turbopumps), implementing operations efficiencies and completing a series of contract consolidations. In FY 1997, NASA turned over a significant portion of the fleet operations responsibilities to the Space Flight Operations Contractor (SFOC), the United Space Alliance, thus transferring management of day-to-day operational activities for the Space Shuttle from NASA to industry. With the President’s FY 2003 budget, NASA will continue to pursue Shuttle competitive sourcing that could enable the further consolidation of Space Shuttle operations with the possibility of privatizing the program based on the following criteria:
1. Safety. Maintain safety over operating life for at least the next 10 years. Provide for appropriate Government role to ensure essential safety features.
2. Competitive Sourcing. Transfer appropriate NASA personnel, assets, and facilities needed for Space Shuttle operations to a private entity. Enable NASA to focus on advancing the state of science, technology, and exploration.
3. Competition. Ensure a competitive environment to satisfy Government space launch requirements and maintain a robust U.S. space launch industry.
4. Cost. Establish a baseline and conduct cost comparisons based on the full cost (operations, maintenance, upgrades, infrastructure, personnel) of the Shuttle program, not to exceed the President’s 2003 five-year budget for the Shuttle.
5. Business Base. Enable pursuit of other Government and commercial business opportunities consistent with principles of a level playing field and international trade policy. Business risks from dependence on outside business will be borne by a private entity, not the Government.
6. Future Plans. Ensure consistency of Shuttle launch commitments, upgrades and infrastructure investments with future decisions on development of new launch systems.
The benefits of competitive sourcing are:Ê 1) greater flexibility to recruit and retain the skilled personnel necessary to safely operate the Shuttle; 2) potential for continued efficiencies in Space Shuttle operations by moving to a private organization that has greater flexibility to make business decisions ; and, 3) significant culture changeÊ at NASA by making it a purchaser of services rather than an operator of infrastructure. Adapting such an approach may allow NASA to focus on advancing the state of science, technology and human exploration. At the same time, pursuit of this objective will require careful and deliberate analysis of the potential benefits and challenges to the Government.
In October 2001, NASA chartered a Shuttle Privatization Task Team to perform a top-level definition and assessment of potential business models for privatization. The team identified potential issues in implementing privatization that are being further refined by an independent external Business Review Team, chartered in January 2002. The Business Review Team is comprised of industry experts from a variety of disciplines, including insurance, investment, financial, and technical fields. The team is to develop a family of alternative business models for consideration, and to test each business model with assumptions appropriate for Space Shuttle operations, such as ensuring continued safe operations with adequate safety checks, and ensuring continuity of flight capability during any transition to a new business model. A fundamental premise is that options for future competition will be preserved. The team will also assess legislative and policy changes that may be required for implementation of a new business model. NASA expects to use the assessment of the Business Review Team to prepare for NASA interaction with industry through a Request for Information. NASA is working to an ambitious schedule for Space Shuttle competitive sourcing, targeting to be poised for a possible transition to this new business arrangement in FY 2004.
Space Access
NASA continues to rely on commercial launch services to meet the demand of NASA’s free-flyer missions. NASA’s FY 2003 budget request of $87.5 million will support a variety of Space Access requirements. NASA has 12 dedicated Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) launches and one secondary payload launch planned in FY 2003. Seven missions are planned for launch from Florida and three from California. NASA’s ELV program continues to afford the Agency a high level of launch success, with an impressive flight record of 98 percent (55 of 56 missions were successfully deployed from ELV’s since 1987). We continue to work with industry and the DOD to assure reliable cost effective access to space for NASA missions, despite the current stagnation of commercial demand. The Payload Carriers Program plans to award the Checkout Assembly and Payload Processing Services (CAPPS) contract in June 2002. The major elements of the CAPPS contract are Payload Processing and Integration at KSC to include ISS re-supply and return, Multi-Purpose Logistic Module (MPLM) processing, payload and experiment processing, test and integration, and host services for ISS Shuttle, and unique NASA ELV payloads that cannot be processed through commercial facilities. NASA has structured this acquisition to enable transition to increased commercial operations in the near future.
Space Science
NASA’s Space Science Enterprise seeks to answer fundamental questions concerning:Ê the galaxy and the uni-verse; the connection between the Sun, Earth and heliosphere; the origin and evolution of planetary systems; and the origin and distribution of life in the universe. The Space Science Enterprise comprises many research and de-velopment activities, including flight missions, major space-based facilities, technology and mission development programs, and research and data analysis.
In 2001, the Space Science Enterprise produced many notable scientific results:Ê the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) discovered a supernova blast that occurred very early in the life of the Universe, bolstering the case for the existence of a mysterious form of “dark energy” pervading the Universe. The Chandra X-ray Observatory took the deepest X-ray images ever and found the early Universe teeming with black holes, and captured the first X-ray flare ever seen from the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. High-resolution images obtained by the BOOMERANG (Balloon Observations of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation and Geophysics) mission were the first to bring the cosmic microwave background (the radiation remaining from the “big bang”) into sharp focus.
In addition to these discoveries that have enhanced our understanding of the origin, evolution, and structure of the Universe, many discoveries were made in the rapidly growing field of extra-solar planet (planets outside our Solar System) detection. NASA and National Science Foundation-funded astronomers discovered eight new extra-solar planets, bringing the total number to about 80. Observations from the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) provided the first evidence that extra-solar planetary systems contain water, an essential ingredient for known forms of life. And astronomers using the HST have made the first detection and chemical analysis of the atmosphere of a planet outside our Solar System.
Within our Solar System, NASA spacecraft made stunning achievements. In a risky flyby, the Deep Space-1 (DS-1) spacecraft successfully navigated past comet Borrelly, giving researchers the best look ever inside the glowing core of icy dust and gas. DS-1 passed just 1,400 miles from the rocky, icy nucleus of the more than six mile-long comet. In the culmination ofÊ the NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) Shoemaker mission, the spacecraft achieved the first landing ever on an asteroid, the asteroid Eros.
A pair of spacecraft, the Mars Global Surveyor and the HST provided astronomers with a ringside seat to the biggest global dust storm seen on Mars in several decades. The Mars Odyssey 2001 spacecraft successfully achieved orbit around Mars following a 6-month, 286 million milCÊurney. Odyssey entered its science-mapping orbit in early 2002, following completion of the aerobraking operation, and will characterize the composition of the Martian surface at unprecedented levels of detail.
The Sun-Earth Connections program, which seeks to develop a scientific understanding of the physical interactions in the Sun-Earth system, had several important scientific accomplishments in 2001. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed the largest sunspot in ten years, with a surface area as big as the surface area of thirteen Earths.
The year was capped by the successful launch of the TIMED (Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) mission, which will study a region of the Earth’s atmosphere that has never been the subject of a comprehensive, long-term scientific investigation.
NASA’s FY 2003 request of $3.414 billion features two very significant changes from the previous baseline program: a reformulated planetary program (New Frontiers program) and a program to develop safe and reliable nuclear power and propulsion systems. In the field of planetary exploration, the FY 2003 budget takes a fundamentally different approach from previous years. Given cost growth and schedule delays, all funding for Outer Planets missions is eliminated in FY 2003 and subsequent years. These missions will be replaced by a revamped planetary program, structured along the lines of the highly successful Discovery program, that will include a clear set of goals and science priorities, and mission selection through a fully open and competitive process.
A new element of the space science program will be the research, development and incorporation of new nuclear electric propulsion and nuclear power technologies. Although these technologies are complex, the objectives are simple:Ê nuclear power will dramatically increase the operational lifetime of landed spacecraft and enable exploration of regions inaccessible with solar power, thereby greatly increasing the scientific return from missions of exploration. Nuclear propulsion greatly increases mission flexibility, enabling new science missions, more in-depth investigations, and greater flexibility in reaching and exploring distant objects.
Nuclear power technology will also be incorporated into the Mars Exploration Program, specifically in the Mars Smart Lander/Mobile Laboratory mission. Mars Smart Lander will now be launched in 2009 to allow the incorporation of nuclear power, instead of 2007, as previously planned. The nearer-term missions in the Mars Exploration Program remain essentially unchanged. In May and June of 2003, two highly capable surface rovers will be launched to Mars, with landings on the surface expected in April and May of 2004. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), to be launched in 2005, will analyze the surface at unprecedented levels of detail to follow tantalizing hints of water detected in images from the Mars Global Surveyor. MRO will measure thousands of Martian landscapes at 8-12-inch resolution. In 2007, a competitively selected Mars Scout mission will be launched, and the Smart Lander will follow in 2009. This robust program of orbiters, landers, and rovers is poised to unravel the secrets of the red planet’s past environment, the history of its rocks, the role of water and, possibly, evidence of past or present life.
The FY 2003 budget supports the completion of development of many significant missions, including Gravity Probe-B (GP-B), the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), and the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). GP-B, which will verify a key aspect of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, will be launched in October 2002. SIRTF, the fourth and final Great Observatory, is scheduled for launch in FY 2003. SOFIA development activities will continue, with the telescope being installed and tested in 2003. Development activities supporting the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), the final HST servicing mission, as well as several key payloads such as Solar-B and Herschel, will also continue in 2003.
The FY 2003 budget request also provides funding for focused technology programs, including early technology development of strategic missions such as the Next Generation Space Telescope and the Space Interferometry Mission. By testing new technologies and providing key science data, missions like these are on the critical path to developing future capabilities to achieve long-term space science goals, such as detecting and imaging Earth-sized planets outside our solar system. Funds are also provided to continue operations of approximately 30 spacecraft; for New Millennium Program flight validations of new technologies; and to conduct robust research and analysis, data analysis, and suborbital research campaigns.
