Summary: GAO reported on its testimony concerning the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) shuttle booster rocket procurement, focusing on: (1) the circumstances surrounding the second-source initiative for procuring solid rocket motors (SRM); and (2) quality control and safety at the SRM manufacturing facility.
GAO found that: (1) in January 1986, after repeated delays, NASA announced its intention to establish a second SRM production source to broaden the industrial base for SRM production and enhance national security; (2) potential second-source contractors expressed concerns that several of the ground rules in the initiative would inhibit competition; (3) following the space shuttle Challenger accident, NASA suspended its second-sourcing plans until the causes of the accident were determined; and (4) neither the government nor the contractor was giving potentially serious quality control and safety problems the management attention they deserved. GAO believes that: (1) NASA plans to determine an appropriate second-sourcing approach following the completion of redesign studies is reasonable; and (2) the guidelines NASA established in January 1986 might not have fostered competition in the motor procurement.
