The General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) testing activities to assess the adequacy of NASA's testing policies and practices, NASA's oversight of contractor testing, and the adequacy of resources available for testing. Because space missions are inherently risky, systems cannot be easily repaired while in orbit, and failures are widely publicized, it is especially important that system performance be thoroughly tested before launch. These complex systems are usually acquired in very limited quantities, and test programs are specifically tailored for each project. In this report, GAO recommends that the NASA Administrator: (1) define and issue testing policies regarding testing goals, minimum requirements, and organizational roles and responsibilities for ensuring that tests are properly planned, conducted, and reported; (2) establish agencywide test standards; and (3) make specific improvements in contractor testing oversight such as increasing the level of civil servants' knowledge and skills to enable them to better critique technical contractor designs, tests, and operations.
Space Project Testing: Uniform Policies and Added Controls Would Strengthen Testing Activities
1991
42 pages
Report
No indication
English
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