Space Acquisitions: DoD Needs Additional Knowledge as it Embarks on a New Approach for Transformational Satellite Communications System
Abstract
DOD is not meeting original cost, schedule, and performance goals established for the TSAT program. When the program was initiated in 2004, DOD estimated TSAT's total acquisition cost to be $15.5 billion and that it would launch the first satellite in April 2011. TSAT's current official cost estimate is nearly $16 billion, and the initial launch date has slipped September 2014-a delay of over 3 years. Furthermore, DOD has changed the TSAT program to an incremental development approach and under this approach, the initial delivery of capability will be less than what DOD originally planned but the performance goal of the full five-satellite constellation has not changed. After DOD established initial goals for TSAT, Congress reduced the program's funding in fiscal years 2005 and 2006 because of concerns about the maturity of critical technologies and an aggressive acquisition schedule. DOD developed the original goals before it had sufficient knowledge about critical TSAT technologies, rendering the goals unreliable. In early 2004, when DOD initiated the TSAT acquisition, only one of seven critical technologies was mature.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA448207
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office