Jun 16 2009
From The Space Library
GAO published a report finding that the development schedules of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences Corporation had recently fallen behind, despite steady progress. SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation, NASA’s commercial partners, were working on transportation technologies for space cargo, according to Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreements. Both companies had experienced schedule slips that would delay demonstration launches scheduled for 2010 and 2011. Having successfully completed its initial 14 developmental milestones on time, SpaceX was in the process of testing, fabricating, and assembling key components. However, a schedule slip in the development of its launch vehicle had contributed to anticipated delays of two to four months in most of SpaceX’s remaining milestones, including demonstration missions. Orbital had successfully completed seven of 19 developmental milestones but had experienced delays in the development of its launch vehicle. The delays were partly because NASA and Orbital had amended their agreement, which now required Orbital to demonstrate a different cargo-transport capability than originally planned. This change had delayed the demonstration mission date from December 2010 to March 2011. GAO pointed out that the delays would cause NASA to experience a cargo-resupply shortfall for the ISS, once the SSP had concluded in 2010. NASA estimates showed that NASA would need to have 82.7 tonnes (91 tons) of dry cargo delivered to the ISS between 2010 and 2015. To deliver approximately half the total amount of dry cargo, NASA planned to use ISS partners’ vehicles—three Russian Progress vehicles in 2010 and 2011, six Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicles between 2010 and 2015, and four European Automated Transfer Vehicles between 2010 and 2013. Based on these projections, GAO concluded that NASA would face a cargo-resupply shortfall of approximately 40 tonnes (44 tons) between 2010 and 2015. If commercial partners were to experience further delays or to become unable to provide cargo- resupply services when anticipated, NASA would be unable to make as full a use of the ISS as it had intended.
U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Commercial Partners Are Making Progress, But Face Aggressive Schedules To Demonstrate Critical Space Station Cargo Transport Capabilities” (report no. GAO-09-618, Washington, DC, June 2009), http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09618.pdf (accessed 5 August 2011); Network World Fusion, “Can Commercial Space Technology Get Off the Ground? NASA’s Commercial Space Technology Is Seemingly at a Crossroads,” 17 June 2009; Mark Matthews, “GAO Gives COTS Companies a Passing Grade,” Orlando Sentinel (FL), 17 June 2009.
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