S. HRG. 106–1095 NASA MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SPACE OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MARCH 22, 2000 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 78–634 PDF WASHINGTON : 2003 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Apr 24 2002 13:09 Sep 10, 2003 Jkt 078634 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\78634.TXT SCOM1 PsN: CAROLT SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED SIXTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina CONRAD BURNS, Montana DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii SLADE GORTON, Washington JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas JOHN B. BREAUX, Louisiana OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine RICHARD H. BRYAN, Nevada JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota BILL FRIST, Tennessee RON WYDEN, Oregon SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan MAX CLELAND, Georgia SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas MARK BUSE, Staff Director MARTHA P. ALLBRIGHT, General Counsel KEVIN D. KAYES, Democratic Staff Director MOSES BOYD, Democratic Chief Counsel Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space BILL FRIST, Tennessee, Chairman CONRAD BURNS, Montana JOHN B. BREAUX, Louisiana KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TED STEVENS, Alaska JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota (II) VerDate Apr 24 2002 13:09 Sep 10, 2003 Jkt 078634 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\78634.TXT SCOM1 PsN: CAROLT C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held March 22, 2000 ................................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Burns ................................................................................... 7 Statement of Senator Frist ..................................................................................... 1 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 2 Statement of Senator Hutchison ............................................................................ 3 Statement of Senator McCain ................................................................................. 5 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 WITNESSES Goldin, Daniel S., Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Adminis- tration ................................................................................................................... 8 Prepared statement, with enclosure and attachment ................................... 11 Li, Allen, Associate Director, National Security and International Affairs, U.S. General Accounting Office .......................................................................... 42 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 44 McDonald, Harry Dr., Director, Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration ................................................................................... 48 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 50 Spear, Tony, Task Leader, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Faster, Better, Cheaper Review Team ............................................................... 54 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 56 Stephenson, Arthur G., Director, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration .............................................. 58 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX Response to written questions submitted by Hon. John McCain to: Daniel S. Goldin ............................................................................................... 77 Allen Li .............................................................................................................. 75 Dr. Harry McDonald ........................................................................................ 84 Tony Spear ........................................................................................................ 76 Arthur G. Stephenson ...................................................................................... 76 (III) VerDate Apr 24 2002 13:09 Sep 10, 2003 Jkt 078634 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\78634.TXT SCOM1 PsN: CAROLT VerDate Apr 24 2002 13:09 Sep 10, 2003 Jkt 078634 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\78634.TXT SCOM1 PsN: CAROLT NASA MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2000 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SPACE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:32 p.m., in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Bill Frist, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BILL FRIST, U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE Senator FRIST. Good afternoon. I would like to welcome all of our guests here today as the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space convenes this hearing on the current management chal- lenges at NASA. This afternoon, although we hope to discuss where we have been in the past, we also want to take a look at where we are going in the future. First, let us take a look at what has brought us to today’s hear- ing. The year 1999 proved to be a very difficult and challenging one for the agency. We have read the reports on workers searching for misplaced Space Station tanks in a landfill; loose pins in the Shuttle’s main engine; failure to make English-metric conversions causing the fail- ure of a $125 million mission to Mars; two-time use of rejected seals on a Shuttle’s turbo-pumps; $1 billion of cost overruns on the prime contract for the Space Station, with calls from the Inspector General at NASA for improvement in NASA’s oversight; workers damaging the main antenna on the Shuttle for communication be- tween mission control and the orbiting Shuttle; urgent repair mis- sion to the Hubble Telescope; approximately $1 billion invested in an experimental vehicle and currently no firm plans for its first flight, if it flies at all; and the lack of long-term planning for the Space Station, an issue on which the Subcommittee has repeatedly questioned NASA. This Subcommittee recognizes and appreciates the technical chal- lenges and hurdles NASA must address to make its missions suc- cessful. However, based upon our initial review of the various in- vestigation reports on these problems, the real culprit may be man- agement. We cannot and should not dismiss good basic manage- ment as an essential component of success. It still gets back to the fundamentals of planning, of leading, of organizing and of control- ling. (1) VerDate Apr 24 2002 13:09 Sep 10, 2003 Jkt 078634 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\78634.TXT SCOM1 PsN: CAROLT 2 Furthermore, we must ensure that every individual not only un- derstands their job, but also performs it well. Regardless of whether NASA’s mantra is ‘‘Faster, Better, Cheap- er,’’ ‘‘Mission Success First,’’ or some other phrase, ‘‘back to basics’’ should be—must be an integral part of the agency’s infrastructure. The bottom line is that we need to confirm that proper manage- ment is in place and functioning as it should be. We cannot proceed until we have done everything we can to en- sure that safety is at the forefront of every NASA endeavor. We must realize that human lives are at stake each time the Shuttle is launched, and therefore, we must take every precaution to guar- antee the astronauts return home safely. It is necessary that we have this hearing today. For $14 billion a year, the American taxpayers deserve better. So with the over- sight responsibilities of this Committee, we hope to further discuss with our witnesses today how to get NASA back on track. We are alarmed by the sheer volume of the reports that we will discuss today. Their recommendations are numerous and far reach- ing. It will take time for us to fully review these recommendations. In the meantime, I look forward to receiving NASA’s implementa- tion plan from these collective reports later this year. Later in the hearing, we will be referring to, I am sure, a UPI article from yesterday that I read last night, that alleges that NASA currently holds the finding of the Young report, originally scheduled to be released earlier this month, but now delayed until final approval by the White House. The content of the story, I am sure we will discuss, and I note that a press release has been released by NASA this afternoon in response. I do want, in advance, to thank all of our witnesses for coming before the Committee today. I would especially like to commend the individuals who participated on the various review teams. Your work is clearly crucial to our oversight process. [The prepared statement of Senator Frist follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. BILL FRIST, U.S.