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GAO-03-825R 1 (2003-06-02)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaamfe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: I Accountability * Integrity * Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 June 2, 2003 The Honorable Jerry Lewis Chairman, Subcommittee on Defense Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives Subject: Military Space Operations: Common Problems and Their Effects on Satellite and Related Acquisitions Dear Mr. Chairman: In fiscal year 2003, the Department of Defense expects to spend more than $18 billion to develop, acquire, and operate satellites and other space-related systems. Satellite systems collect information on the capabilities and intentions of potential adversaries. They enable military forces to be warned of a missile attack and to communicate and navigate while avoiding hostile action. And they provide information that allows forces to precisely attack targets in ways that minimize collateral damage and loss of life. DOD's satellites also enable global communications, television broadcasts, weather forecasting; navigation of ships, planes, trucks, and cars; and synchronization of computers, communications, and electric power grids. You requested that we review reports we issued on satellite and other space-related programs over the past two decades and identify common problems affecting these programs. In addition to analyzing past reports, we interviewed Air Force space acquisition officials and reviewed past DOD studies as well as DOD's selected acquisition reports to the Congress. As agreed with your office, given the short timeframe of this assignment, we did not thoroughly assess underlying causes of problems identified or the effectiveness of actions being taken to address these problems. However, we plan to do so as part of a follow-on study. To the extent possible, we looked at the current status of programs we reviewed. However, because we principally relied on past GAO and DOD reports, some recent changes in status and cost may not be reflected. We conducted our review from April 2003 through May 2003 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. GAO-03-825R Satellite Acquisition Programs