Since its inception, the station program has been plagued with cost and  schedule overruns. Grounding of Shuttle Fleet Has Further Delayed On-Orbit Assembly of Space Station and Research

The grounding of the U.S. shuttle fleet has presented a number of  operational challenges for the space station program. With the fleet  grounded, NASA is heavily dependent on its international partners—  especially Russia—for operations and logistics support for the space  station. However, due to the limited payload capacity of the Russian space  vehicles, on-orbit assembly has been halted. This  process, however, will require a new device to be developed and  expending resources not previously planned for this function. NASA officials have maintained that assembly  delays will be at least a “month for month” slip from the previous  schedule, depending on the frequency of flights when the shuttles resume  operations. Further, NASA states that although the crew has been reduced  from three to two members, more crew time will be available to carry out  research tasks because no assembly or space walks are planned. Regardless, the limited payload capability of the Russian vehicles directly  affects the extent of research that can be conducted, as illustrated in the  following examples:
Outfitting of U.S. research facilities halted: Lacking the shuttle fleet’s  greater lift capability, the amount of research hardware transported to and  from the station has been significantly limited. As a result, research experiments for the current flight increment have  been reduced. Cost Implications Have Yet to Be Determined, but Increases Are Likely

Since the program’s inception, we have repeatedly reported on the  challenges NASA has faced in maintaining goals and objectives for the  space station program. However,  they have identified a number of factors that will likely result in increased  costs—including the continued maintenance and storage of ready-to- launch station components as well as the testing and recertification of  some components and the need to extend contracts to complete  development and assembly of the station. NASA officials told us that soon after the Columbia accident, they  published ground rules and assumptions that stated there would be no  significant changes to the station’s budget execution and would maintain  budget requests at current levels until the shuttle returns to flight. NASA has also implemented a management decision analysis that  anticipates additional costs to be incurred in keeping a crew on-board the  station while the shuttle fleet is grounded. Other factors, according to NASA officials, that the station program office  identified could also result in cost increases, but it has not fully quantified  these costs: disassembly and reassembly of component parts; unpacking and repacking equipment from the logistics module that was storage of station components that are ready for launch; maintaining battery life; unfurling and testing solar array wings, which could be affected by additional travel to Russia to facilitate discussions on Soyuz and Progress  vehicles’ schedules and payloads and export controls issues; additional resupply flights; and retention of some critical skills necessary to complete development and  assembly of the station. Uncertainty of the Shuttle’s Return-to- Flight Date Delays International Partner Agreements

In addition to the operational challenges facing NASA, funding and partner  agreements present significant challenges. At the same time,  NASA and its partners must develop a plan for assembling the partners’  modules and reaching agreement on the final station configuration. In  addition, since the final on-orbit configuration is likely to be different from  the configuration when the Intergovernmental Agreements were signed in  1998, NASA officials state the partners may have to adjust agreements that  cover the partners’ responsibility for shared common operations costs. Depending on contributions made by the  partners while the shuttle fleet is grounded, the share that each partner  contributes to the common operations costs may have to be adjusted and  could result in NASA’s paying a larger share of those costs. However, the U.S. may be prohibited from making certain  payments due to a statutory restriction. NASA officials acknowledge that the  loss of the space shuttle Columbia poses cost and schedule risks that have  direct implications on completing the development and assembly of the  station and the research that is to be conducted on-board as well as on  NASA’s budgets for fiscal year 2004 and beyond. Scope and Methodology

To describe the current status of the space station program in terms of on- orbit assembly and research, we reviewed NASA’s plans for completing  station assembly prior to the Columbia accident and compared those plans  to the agency’s actions following the accident to continue on-board  operations while the shuttle fleet is grounded.
Why GAO Did This Study

In 1998, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its international partners--Canada, Europe, Japan, and Russia--began on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station, envisioned as a permanently orbiting laboratory for conducting scientific research under nearly weightless conditions. Since its inception, the program has experienced numerous problems, resulting in significant cost growth and assembly schedule slippages. Following the loss of Columbia in February 2003, NASA grounded the U.S. shuttle fleet, putting the immediate future of the space station in doubt, as the fleet, with its payload capacity, has been key to the station's development. If recent discoveries about the cause of the Columbia's disintegration require that the remaining shuttles be redesigned or modified, delays in the fleet's return to flight could be lengthy. In light of these uncertainties, concerns about the space station's cost and progress have grown. This report highlights the current status of the program in terms of on-orbit assembly and research; the cost implications for the program with the grounding of the shuttle fleet; and identifying significant program management challenges, especially as they relate to reaching agreements with the international partners.

What GAO Found

Although the effects of the Columbia accident on the space station are still being explored, it is clear that the station will cost more, take longer to complete, and have further delay in the achievement of key research objectives. Due to the limited payload capacity of Russia's Soyuz and Progress vehicles--which the program must now rely on to rotate crew and provide logistics support--the station is currently in a survival mode. Onorbit assembly is at a standstill, and the on-board crew has been reduced from three to two members. NASA officials maintain that delays in on-orbit assembly will be at least a "month for month" slip from the previous schedule. However, these delays have presented a number of operational challenges. For example, several key components that were ready for launch when the Columbia accident occurred have been idle at Kennedy Space Center and now require additional maintenance or recertification before they can be launched. Moreover, certain safety concerns on-board the station cannot be addressed until the shuttle fleet's return to flight. The grounding of the shuttle fleet has also further impeded the advancement of the program's science investigations. Specifically, the limited availability of research facilities and new science materials has constrained on-board research. NASA has yet to estimate the potential costs and future budget impacts that will result from the grounding of the shuttle fleet. Throughout the life of the program, however, maintaining goals and objectives for the space station has been a challenge for NASA. NASA has analyzed anticipated costs that the program will incur to keep a limited crew on board the station until the U.S. shuttles resume flight, and officials have stated that there would not be significant changes to the execution of the current budget and that the fiscal year 2004 budget request would remain at current levels. NASA plans to continue to develop hardware and deliver station elements to Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for launch as previously scheduled. However, a number of factors will likely result in increased costs, including costs to maintain and store station components and costs for extending contracts. Important decisions regarding funding and partner agreements still need to be made. For example, agreements that cover the partners' responsibility for shared common operations costs may need to be adjusted, an adjustment that could result in NASA's paying a larger share of these costs. In addition, logistics flights using Russian vehicles may need to be accelerated to ensure continued operations on-board the station. Russia has stated that additional flights are possible, but it could need additional funding from the other partners. However, the United States may be prohibited from providing certain payments due to a statutory restriction. NASA and its partners must also develop a plan for assembling the partners' modules and reaching agreement on the final station configuration. The partners were on a path to agree on final configuration by December 2003, but this process has been delayed by the Columbia accident.