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Open Recommendations (43 total)

Telecommunications: Agencies Should Fully Implement Established Transition Planning Practices to Help Reduce Risk of Costly Delays

GAO-20-155
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should ensure that the agency's Chief Information Officer takes into account the agency's mission critical systems and contingency plans in NASA's telecommunications transition time line. (Recommendation 25)
Open
NASA concurred with this recommendation. In January 2021, NASA provided a written response stating that the Office of the Chief Information Officer, through its telecommunications contractor, developed standard processes for the transition of telecommunications services that minimize risk to all systems. NASA also provided documentation of its EIS Project Plan, which included risk management processes for the transition. However, as of January 2024, NASA has not demonstrated that it has taken into account in its telecommunications transition timeline the agency's mission critical systems and contingency plans, as we recommended. We will continue to follow-up on the agency's efforts to address this recommendation.

Research Reliability: Federal Actions Needed to Promote Stronger Research Practices

GAO-22-104411
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Administrator of NASA should collect information on relevant indicators of rigor to assess the research projects the agency funds, and implement steps, as needed, to promote strong research practices in future work. (Recommendation 5)
Open
NASA did not concur with GAO's July 2022 recommendation, stating that while NASA is committed to ensuring research reliability for projects it funds, NASA believes the best way to ensure reliability is through applying the peer review process to proposed studies submitted to NASA and to NASA-funded studies seeking publication. As stated in its July 2020 report, GAO continues to believe the recommendation is warranted.

Space Launch System: Resources Need to be Matched to Requirements to Decrease Risk and Support Long Term Affordability

GAO-14-631
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Priority Rec.
To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program planning and affordability, and to decrease the risk of cost and schedule overruns, NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to take the following action: To allow for a continued assessment of progress and affordability, NASA should structure each future increment of SLS capability with a total cost exceeding the $250 million threshold for designation as a major project as a separate development effort within the SLS program. In doing so, NASA should require each increment to complete both the technical and programmatic reviews required of other major development projects, per the agency's acquisition and system engineering policies.
Open
NASA agreed with this recommendation. NASA established an updated baseline commitment of the Orion system for Artemis II to include a docking capability in August2021. As of February 2023, NASA had not established separate cost and schedule baselines foreach additional SLS and ground systems block, though the agency previously stated it plans to. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA needs to provide evidence that it established separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional SLS and ground systems block exceeding the $250 million threshold for designation as a major project. Further, NASA needs to provide evidence that each capability upgrade is designated a major project and is required to complete the technical and programmatic reviews required of other major development projects. Structuring future SLS increments as separate development efforts can provide decision makers transparency into costs and enable them to assess long-term affordability and progress.

NASA Cybersecurity: Plan Needed to Update Spacecraft Acquisition Policies and Standards

GAO-24-106624
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The NASA Administrator should ensure that the Chief Engineer, the Chief Information Officer, and the Principal Advisor for Enterprise Protection develop an implementation plan with time frames to update its spacecraft acquisition policies and standards to incorporate essential controls required to protect against cyber threats. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

NASA Human Space Exploration: Significant Investments in Future Capabilities Require Strengthened Management Oversight

GAO-21-105
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Priority Rec.
We recommend that the NASA Administrator ensure that the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate establish cost and schedule baselines for SLS Block 1B, SLS Block 2, Mobile Launcher 2, and Orion Docking System at their preliminary design reviews or as soon as practicable in advance of critical design reviews. (Recommendation 1)
Open
NASA agreed with this recommendation. In April 2021, NASA officials stated that it was on track to establish a baseline for SLS Block 1B and a separate baseline for Mobile Launcher 2 by September 30, 2021. As of February 2023, however, NASA had not released cost and schedule baselines for either effort. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA will need to provide documentation that it established cost and schedule baselines for all four systems-including SLS Block 2-before their respective critical design reviews. Establishing cost and schedule baselines for these programs will provide decision makers an important oversight tool to monitor program performance.

Scientific Integrity Policies: Additional Actions Could Strengthen Integrity of Federal Research

GAO-19-265
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Administrator of NASA should develop documented procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations of its scientific integrity policy. (Recommendation 10)
Open
In May 2022, NASA officials stated that the agency is developing the training materials, which will include specific procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations of NASA's scientific integrity policy.

Research Reliability: Federal Actions Needed to Promote Stronger Research Practices

GAO-22-104411
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Administrator of NASA should take steps to collect information to determine whether current policies and requirements are adequate to achieve transparency by ensuring research results and data are findable, accessible, and usable, and implement programmatic or policy changes, if needed. (Recommendation 6)
Open
NASA partially concurred with this recommendation. On January 17, 2023 NASA stated that it is already engaged in two efforts that will accomplish the objective of this recommendation. First, NASA's Science Mission Directorate has initiated its Year of Open Science, whose goals include enhancing access to NASA-funded publications by applying the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) principles. Second, NASA is revising its Scientific Integrity policy with the aim of increasing transparency and accessibility of NASA-funded research.

NASA: Actions Needed to Improve Transparency and Assess Long-Term Affordability of Human Exploration Programs

GAO-14-385
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Priority Rec.
To provide the Congress with the necessary insight into program affordability, ensure its ability to effectively monitor total program costs and execution, and to facilitate investment decisions, the NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to establish a separate cost and schedule baseline for work required to support the SLS Block I Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) and report this information to the Congress through NASA's annual budget submission. If NASA decides to fly the SLS Block I beyond EM-2, establish separate life cycle cost and schedule baseline estimates for those efforts, to include funding for operations and sustainment, and report this information annually to Congress via the agency's budget submission.
Open
NASA partially agreed with this recommendation. Officials stated that NASA defined and documented life-cycle costs for SLS to a first demonstrated capability, consistent with cost estimating best practices and NASA project and program management policy. In February 2023, officials stated that following the successful launch of Artemis I, the agency is updating the schedule for Artemis II. In spring 2022, SLS and the ground systems programs provided the first 5-year operational cost estimate and NASA plans to update it in spring 2023. Additionally, NASA plans to create a cost estimate for Artemis III informed by the development baselines of capabilities that will fly on the mission. To fully implement this recommendation, NASA needs to provide documentation of these efforts to determine the extent to which it has developed cost and schedule baseline estimates for future SLS work. Taking these actions would help NASA develop insight into the program's costs and allow decision makers to monitor program execution, including efforts to improve long-term affordability.

NASA Human Space Exploration: Significant Investments in Future Capabilities Require Strengthened Management Oversight

GAO-21-105
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration We recommend that the NASA Administrator ensure that the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate directs the Exploration Systems Development organization to include cost, schedule, and technical performance updates for SLS Block 1B, SLS Block 2, Mobile Launcher 2, and the Orion Docking System in its quarterly program status reviews in order to maintain oversight of these development projects. (Recommendation 2)
Open
NASA agreed with this recommendation, but as of July 2023, has not taken steps necessary to fully implement. While the amount and quality of information presented in the quarterly status reports has improved in some instances, key pieces of information related to cost, schedule, and technical performance were missing for each upgrade effort.

NASA Information Technology: Urgent Action Needed to Address Significant Management and Cybersecurity Weaknesses

GAO-18-337
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The Administrator should direct the Chief Information Officer to establish an agency-wide approach to managing cybersecurity risk that includes a cybersecurity strategy that, among other things, makes explicit the agency's risk tolerance, accepted risk assessment methodologies, a process for consistently evaluating risk across the organization, response strategies and approaches for monitoring risk over time, and priorities for risk management investments. (Recommendation 8)
Open
NASA concurred with this recommendation. In July 2018, NASA reported that it had hired a Chief Cybersecurity Risk Officer in April 2018 and that it had also approved a charter for an agency-wide Cybersecurity Integration Team. Since 2020, NASA has been developing and refining plans for its cybersecurity risk management strategy. As of October 2023, NASA reported that the agency had drafted a cybersecurity risk management strategy and submitted the strategy for review by stakeholders. NASA plans to submit the plan to OCIO governance boards and take actions to finalize the strategy in 2024. We will continue to monitor the implementation of this recommendation.
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