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NASA FY 2003 Performance and Accountability Report

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NASA FY 2003 Performance and Accountability Report National Aeronautics and Space Administration Performance and Accountability Report FISCAL YEAR 2003 The interior of a crater surrounding the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seen in this color image from the rover's panoramic camera. This is the darkest landing site ever visited by a spacecraft on Mars. The rim of the crater is approximately 10 meters (32 feet) from the rover. The crater is estimated to be 20 meters (65 feet) in diameter. Scientists are intrigued by the abundance of rock outcrops dispersed throughout the crater, as well as the crater's soil, which appears to be a mixture of coarse gray grains and fine reddish grains. Data taken from the camera's near-infrared, green and blue filters were combined to create this approximate true color picture, taken on the first day of Opportunity's journey. The view is to the west-southwest of the rover. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell Message from the Administrator Fiscal Year 2003 was a challenging year for NASA. We answers by discovering the “new” oldest planet in our Milky forged ahead in science and technology. We made excellent Way Galaxy. We made progress in our expendable launch progress in implementing the five government-wide initiatives vehicle program and in our efforts to resolve problems of the President’s Management Agenda, and we fully met or related to long-duration space flight—efforts that have direct exceeded more than 80 percent of our annual performance application to health-related issues on Earth. We also goals. Sadly, however, 2003 will be remembered foremost identified Education as a core NASA mission, established as the year of the tragic Shuttle Columbia accident and the the Education Enterprise, and launched the Educator deaths of seven dedicated astronauts. No accomplishments Astronaut Program. can balance the scale of this horrific loss. We can, however, honor the legacy of our fallen heroes by correcting the Throughout FY 2003, NASA continued to redefine what is problems that caused the accident, re-affirming our uncom- possible by leading the way in emerging scientific and promising commitment to safety, and implementing the technical fields. Many of the year’s achievements came from recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation the Hubble Space Telescope as it continued to bring the Board (CAIB) Report to make space flight as safe as humanly wonders of the universe down to Earth. Others came directly possible. We owe this to the astronauts’ families and to the from experiments and studies done onboard Columbia American people. before its tragic end. All of our achievements are a credit to the committed members of the NASA family who, even in Perhaps NASA’s greatest challenge in FY 2003 was the face of overwhelming loss, did not give up on NASA’s continuing the work of the Agency as we mourned and Vision, Mission, and Goals. rebounded from our loss. We made excellent progress in understanding the Earth system and the ability of humankind As we look ahead to 2004 and beyond, we do so with rein- to adapt to its ever-changing conditions. We contributed to vigorated spirit thanks to the Administration’s new vision for advances in aircraft and airspace safety and security through the U.S. space exploration program. In tribute to all our fallen our Smart Icing System, which lets an aircraft “sense” heroes, we accept the challenge to advance science and when to initiate de-icing procedures, and through the Air technology through new initiatives in human and robotic Transportation Technologies Project to aid air traffic controllers. research and to continue our pursuit of answers to life’s The first deployment of an airframe parachute on a certified compelling questions. aircraft made aviation history when the pilot and aircraft landed virtually unharmed. And, NASA developed disease Therefore, it is with pride, as well as sorrow, that I present the surveillance tools that are helping world health organizations FY 2003 NASA Performance and Accountability Report. defend against a resurgence of vector-borne diseases. In FY 2003, NASA found new answers to old questions by Sean O’Keefe re-examining the mechanics of how liquid metals resist Administrator turning into solids, and we posed new challenges to old January 2004 Message from the Administrator i Guide to NASA’s FY 2003 Performance and Accountability Report This is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s The main body of the PAR is divided into three parts: (NASA) Fiscal Year 2003 (FY 2003) Performance and Accountability Report (PAR), which presents detailed Part 1—Management Discussion and Analysis. This part information on NASA’s performance and financial statements presents background information on NASA’s organization, for FY 2003. It also reports on management challenges FY 2003 performance achievements and financial highlights, and NASA’s plans and efforts to overcome them. This management challenges and plans, and progress on introduction is intended to familiarize the reader with the implementing the President’s Management Agenda. types of information contained in this report and where that information is located. Part 2—Detailed Performance Data. This part provides detailed information on NASA’s progress toward achieving Clearly, NASA faces no greater management challenge in each of the Agency’s annual performance goals (APGs). This 2004 and beyond than overcoming the cultural and technical includes detailed explanations and future plans for the APGs issues that contributed to the tragic loss of Columbia on NASA did and did not achieve, as well as source references February 1, 2003. Therefore, a special section on Columbia for more information. precedes the main body of the report. This section describes the events of that day and the investigations that followed, Part 3—Financial Information. This part presents presents the details of the Columbia Accident Investigation NASA’s detailed FY 2003 financial statements, reports from Board (CAIB) Report and NASA’s responses, and lays out NASA’s external auditor, and follow up information on audit NASA’s return to flight plans. recommendations. The appendices capture information on APG trends, NASA’s performance and budget planning process, and audit follow up reports required by the Inspector General Act. ii NASA FY 2003 | Performance and Accountability Report Table of Contents Message from the Administrator i Guide to NASA’s FY 2003 Performance and Accountability Report ii COLUMBIA 1 PART 1: MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS Vision, Mission, and Organization 11 FY 2003 Performance Achievement Highlights 14 FY 2003 Financial Highlights 39 Management Controls, Challenges, and Actions 40 Administrator’s Statement of Assurance 40 Systems, Controls, and Legal Compliance 41 Integrity Act Material Weaknesses and Non-Conformances 42 Office of Inspector General Summary of Serious Management Challenges 43 NASA’s Response to Major Management Challenges and High-Risk Areas 48 Looking Forward 52 The President’s Management Agenda: 2003 Progress and Achievements 54 Reliability and Completeness of Financial and Performance Data 57 PART 2: DETAILED PERFORMANCE DATA Introduction to NASA’s Detailed Performance Data 61 Goal 1 Understand Earth’s system and apply Earth system science to improve the prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards 64 Goal 2 Enable a safer, more secure, efficient, and environmentally friendly air transportation system 84 Goal 3 Create a more secure world and improve the quality of life by investing in technologies and collaborating with other agencies, industry, and academia 87 Goal 4 Explore the fundamental principles of physics, chemistry, and biology through research in the unique natural laboratory of space 92 Goal 5 Explore the solar system and the universe beyond, understand the origin and evolution of life, and search for evidence of life elsewhere 97 Goal 6 Inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 106 Goal 7 Engage the public in shaping and sharing the experience of exploration and discovery 112 Goal 8 Ensure the provision of space access and improve it by increasing safety, reliability, and affordability 118 Goal 9 Extend the duration and boundaries of human space flight to create new opportunities for exploration and discovery 128 Goal 10 Enable revolutionary capabilities through new technology 130 Implementing Strategies to Conduct Well-Managed Programs 134 PART 3: FINANCIALS Letter from the Chief Financial Officer 143 Financial Overview 145 Financial Statements 148 Independent Accountant Report 180 APPENDICES Appendix I: NASA’s APG Performance Trends for FY 2000 to FY 2003 207 Appendix II: Inspector General Act Amendment Reports 223 Appendix III: NASA’s Performance and Budget Planning Process 227 Acronyms 228 NASA Contact Information 230 iii “This cause of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose. It is a desire written in the human heart….” President George W. Bush, Columbia Memorial Service Columbia Introduction always push forward,” Commander Rick Husband said before the mission. “STS-107 is doing that on the science On the morning of January 16, 2003, the Space Shuttle side—pushing human science knowledge forward.” Columbia and its crew of seven lifted off from the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on an Earth-orbiting mission Sixteen days after their launch, the Columbia crewmembers devoted to space, life, and physical science research. As and their vehicle were lost in a tragic re-entry accident in the the families of the astronauts eloquently stated, the STS-107 skies over eastern Texas. crew members—Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla Throughout the world, people mourned the loss of the and Laurel Clark, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, gallant astronauts and paid tribute to their courageous spirit. and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon—headed into space At a memorial service held at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson with “a willingness to accept risk in the pursuit of knowledge Space Center (JSC), President George W.
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