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GAO-16-252R 1 (2016-03-10)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaajrn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAOU.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 March 10, 2016 Congressional Committees Defense Weather Satellites: Analysis of Alternatives Is Useful for Certain Capabilities, but Ineffective Coordination Limited Assessment of Two Critical Capabilities The Department of Defense (DOD) uses data from military, U.S. civil government, and international partner satellite sensors to provide critical weather information and forecasts for military operations. As DOD's primary existing weather satellite system-the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)-ages and other satellites near their estimated end of life, DOD faces potential gaps in its space-based environmental monitoring (SBEM) capabilities which may affect stakeholders that use SBEM data, including the military services, the intelligence community, and U.S. civil agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). After two unsuccessful attempts to develop follow-on programs from 1997 through fiscal year 2012, including the National Polar-orbiting Operational Satellite System (NPOESS), a tri-agency program between DOD, NOAA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that was canceled in 2010 because of extensive cost overruns and schedule delays, DOD and other stakeholders who rely on SBEM data are now in a precarious position in which key capabilities require immediate and near-term solutions.1 With potential capability gaps starting as early as this year, it is important for DOD to make decisions in a timely manner, but based on informed analysis that considers stakeholder input. From February 2012 through September 2014, DOD conducted a requirements review and an analysis of alternatives (AOA) to identify and compare the operational effectiveness and life cycle costs of potential solutions for providing SBEM capabilities.2 An AOA-a key analysis in DOD's acquisition process-is intended to inform a decision on the most cost effective solution for meeting validated capability requirements and identify a wide range of solutions with a reasonable likelihood of providing the needed capabilities. DOD conducted the SBEM AOA in two phases: * Phase 1, which took place from October 2012 into March 2013, examined 12 potential capability gaps to determine the military utility-or operational benefit-and operational risk of each gap. 1In May 1994, a Presidential Decision Directive required DOD and the Department of Commerce through NOAA to converge their two separate weather satellite programs into a single program capable of satisfying both military and civilian requirements. Presidential Decision Directive NSTC-2, Convergence of U.S. Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite Systems (May 5, 1994). The NPOESS program started in 1997; after it was cancelled in 2010 DOD was given responsibility for covering the early morning polar orbit and started a separate program, the Defense Weather Satellite System. The program was cancelled in fiscal year 2012 because of cost and timing considerations. NOAA has developed the Joint Polar Satellite System to meet its responsibility for coverage in the afternoon orbit. 2 This period includes the development of study guidance and a study plan for the AOA, and the Joint Requirement Oversight Council's review of the AOA. The analysis took approximately 10 months to complete, from October 2012 into July 2013, followed by 3 months to prepare the final AOA report, issued in October 2013. GAO-16-252R DOD Weather Satellite Alternatives Page 1

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