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Open Recommendations (43 total)

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.

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.

Telecommunications: Agencies Need Better Controls to Achieve Significant Savings on Mobile Devices and Services

GAO-15-431
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration To help the agency effectively manage spending on mobile devices and services, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should ensure a complete inventory of mobile devices and associated services is established.
Open
As of January 2024, NASA had not demonstrated that it has implemented the recommendation. In June 2021, NASA's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) provided an inventory of mobile devices and services; however, the OCIO did not demonstrate that the inventory was complete. Specifically, the OCIO did not demonstrate that it had accounted for all NASA devices. We will continue to monitor NASA's efforts to implement the recommendation.

Telecommunications: Agencies Need Better Controls to Achieve Significant Savings on Mobile Devices and Services

GAO-15-431
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration To help the agency effectively manage spending on mobile devices and services, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should ensure a reliable inventory of mobile service contracts is developed and maintained.
Open
As of January 2024, NASA had not demonstrated that it has implemented the recommendation.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration To help the agency effectively manage spending on mobile devices and services, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration should ensure procedures to monitor and control spending are established agency-wide. Specifically, ensure that (1) procedures include assessing devices for zero, under, and over usage; (2) personnel with authority and responsibility for performing the procedures are identified; and (3) the specific steps to be taken to perform the process are documented.
Open
As of January 2024, NASA had not implemented the recommendation. We will continue to monitor the agency's efforts to implement the recommendation.

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: Provide decision makers with an informed basis for making investment decisions regarding the SLS program, NASA should identify a range of possible missions for each future SLS variant that includes cost and schedule estimates and plans for how those possible missions would fit within NASA's funding profile.
Open
NASA agreed with this recommendation. As of February 2023, NASA stated that as it implements the new organization of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, it will develop a manifest for missions beyond Artemis IV, including the hardware available for the missions. Additionally, NASA is developing Moon to Mars objectives, which will outline anticipated capability and mission needs. To fully address this recommendation, NASA needs to provide documentation that it established cost and schedule estimates for each future SLS variant and its plan for how possible missions would fit within NASA's funding profile. Further, NASA needs to identify cost and schedule estimates for SLS missions beyond Artemis I and how its planned missions would fit within NASA's funding profile. Identifying a range of mission possibilities and their required funding will ensure the decision makers have information to make decisions about the affordability of the program within the agency's funding profile.

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, because NASA intends to use the increased capabilities of the SLS, Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations efforts well into the future and has chosen to estimate costs associated with achieving the capabilities, the NASA's Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to establish separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional capability that encompass all life cycle costs, to include operations and sustainment. When NASA cannot fully specify costs due to lack of well-defined missions or flight manifests, forecast a cost estimate range -- including life cycle costs -- having minimum and maximum boundaries. These baselines or ranges should be reported to Congress annually via the agency's budget submission.
Open
NASA partially agreed with this recommendation, stating that it had established separate programs for SLS, Orion, and the ground systems and adopted a block upgrade approach for SLS. In August 2021, NASA established an updated baseline commitment of the Orion system for Artemis II to include a docking capability. In February 2023, NASA reported SLS and the ground systems have begun annually reporting a 5-year cost estimate of operational costs. NASA officials also stated they are still in the process of establishing baselines for SLS's Exploration Upper Stage and associated capabilities and the Mobile Launcher 2. To address this recommendation, NASA needs to provide evidence that it established separate cost and schedule baselines for each additional SLS, Orion, and ground systems capability block that encompass all life-cycle costs, including operations and sustainment. Doing so will enable Congressional insight into program costs.

NASA Human Space Exploration: Persistent Delays and Cost Growth Reinforce Concerns over Management of Programs

GAO-19-377
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration We recommend the NASA Administrator ensure that the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations direct the EGS program to demonstrate design maturity by completing 3D product modeling of the basic and functional design of the second Mobile Launcher prior to construction start. (Recommendation 3)
Open
NASA agreed with this recommendation and stated that the acquisition strategy for the second mobile launcher requires the use of 3D product modeling and that it will be the source for all engineering activities including integrated design reviews to demonstrate design maturity. In August 2021, EGS program officials stated that the 3D product model for the second mobile launcher is about 75 percent complete. Further, officials stated that NASA will consider the basic and functional design of the second mobile launcher complete following the successful completion of an integrated critical design review. Program officials do not expect to complete the integrated critical design review process before Fall 2023.

NASA Commercial Crew Program: Plan Needed to Ensure Uninterrupted Access to the International Space Station

GAO-18-476
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration After completing the agency certification review, NASA's Chief Engineer and Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance, with support from the NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations and the Commercial Crew Program Manager, should document lessons learned related to loss of crew as a safety threshold for future crewed spaceflight missions, given the complexity of the metric. (Recommendation 4)
Open
NASA concurred with our recommendation to document lessons learned related to the loss of crew requirement. In February 2023, NASA told us that they expect to take action to close this recommendation following the Boeing certification review. As of August 2023, Boeing's crewed flight test was delayed to no earlier than March 2024, after which NASA plans to complete certification activities.

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 address, in conjunction with the Chief Human Capital Officer, gaps in IT workforce planning by fully implementing the eight key IT workforce planning activities noted in this report. (Recommendation 3)
Open
NASA did not concur with this recommendation. As of October 2019, the agency reported that the Office of the Chief Information Officer was beginning its involvement with the agency's Mission Support Architecture Program which aims at re-aligning mission support functions from a decentralized model to an enterprise model. The office's participation in the re-alignment effort had an estimated completion date in fiscal year 2023. As of February 16, 2024, NASA had not provided another update. We will continue to monitor the implementation of this recommendation.
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