The National Aeronautics and Space Administration: An Overview and FY1999 Budget Analysis

David P. Radzanowski and Richard Rowberg
Science, Technology, and Medicine Division

Updated July 1, 1998

97-634 STM

CONTENTS:

Introduction
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958
NASA A Brief History of Activities

The 1960s
The 1970s
The 1980s
The 1990s

Current NASA Organization

NASA Headquarters
NASA Field Centers

• Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA
• Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) Edwards Air Force Base, CA
• Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Greenbelt, MD
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, CA
• Johnson Space Center (JSC) Houston, TX
• Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Cape Canaveral, Florida
• Langley Research Center (LaRC) Hampton, VA
• Lewis Research Center (LeRC) Cleveland, OH
• Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville, AL
• John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) Bay St. Louis, MS

Zero Base Review
NASA Strategic Plan

NASA Programs and Budget Figures

Historical Budget
FY1998 Budget
FY 1999 Budget

Overview
Human Space Flight (HSF)
Science, Aeronautics, and Technology (SAT)
Mission Support
Inspector General

Future NASA Budget Outlook
Selected NASA World Wide Web Sites

General
Program Offices
Functional/Staff Offices
Field Centers

Introduction

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (P.L. 85- 568) to undertake civilian research, development, and flight activities in aeronautics and space. This report provides an overview of the agency, including a brief description of the Space Act of 1958, a short summary of NASA's historical activities, a description of the agency's current organization and field centers, a breakdown of its FY1998 appropriations and FY1999 request, and a discussion of the agency's future budget prospects. A table summarizing the FY1997 and FY1998 appropriations and the FY1998 request also is included.

National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (P.L. 85-568), known as the NASA Act, established NASA and outlined its objectives. NASA is to undertake civilian research, development, and flight activities in aeronautics and space to maintain United States preeminence in those areas. The Act stipulated, however, that the Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for all military space activities. NASA incorporated a predecessor agency known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), whose staff and facilities were transferred to NASA by the Act. NASA's objectives as outlined by the NASA Act, as amended, are as follows:

-- The expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space; -- The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;

-- The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living organisms through space;

-- The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes;

-- The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere;

-- The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defense of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing of such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;

-- Cooperation of the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results thereof;

-- The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment; and

-- The preservation of the United States' preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes.

NASA A Brief History of Activities

Spurred on by the October 1957 launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, by the Soviet Union, the mid-1958 creation of NASA symbolized the entrance of the United States into the space age. Only months earlier, in January 1958, the United States had launched its first satellite, Explorer 1. Since its creation, NASA has undertaken a wide variety of programs and projects including the following:

-- Human spaceflight including trips to the moon;

-- Applications satellites for communications, weather, and Earth land and ocean sensing; -- Scientific satellites and probes to examine processes that affect the Earth and its environment, explore the Moon and other planets, and provide data on stars, comets, and interstellar space; and

-- Aeronautical research in aerodynamics, materials and propulsion, in addition to flight tests with advanced aircraft, to improve aircraft performance and improve safety in the nation's airspace. (See Endnote 1.)

The 1960s

The 1960s are known for the first flights of astronauts, the Mercury and Gemini programs, the Apollo program, and the landing of Americans on the Moon. In his May 1961 address to Congress, President Kennedy called for the United States to commit itself to landing an astronaut on the Moon before the end of the decade. That goal was met with the July 20, 1969, landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon with astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin. (See Endnote 2.) Two earlier programs preceded the Apollo program. The Mercury program (1961-1963) developed knowledge about human reaction to the space environment. The Gemini program (1965-66) expanded the knowledge of humans in space and developed expertise in rendezvous and docking and extravehicular activity in Earth orbit.

The 1960s also saw the development of scientific, communications and meteorological satellites. Often, once NASA developed communications and weather satellites, operational responsibility was turned over to the private sector or to another government agency (such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the case of meteorological spacecraft). Several scientific probes and satellites provided information about the interaction between the Sun and Earth as well as data on other stars and the cosmos. Robotic probes were launched to the Moon and other planets. By the end of the decade, Venus and Mars had been visited by Mariner probes in flybys.

The 1970s

NASA's budgets fell significantly in the 1970s. In the early 1970s, five more Apollo lunar landings were accomplished, but the last three of the eight planned missions were canceled. A near tragedy occurred en route to the Moon on April 13, 1970, when an oxygen tank exploded aboard Apollo 13. The crew made it back safely to Earth 4 days later after improvising an ingenious plan. In 1972, President Nixon approved the start of the Space Shuttle program to develop the first reusable launch vehicle for taking people and cargo into space. From 1973 to 1974, three crews visited a space station called Skylab. The third crew remained on Skylab for 84 days, a record at the time. Skylab reentered the Earth's atmosphere in 1979. (See Endnote 3.) In 1975, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, in which a two-man Soviet crew docked in orbit with a three-man U.S. crew for the first such international space flight, heralded the end of the Apollo era. No U.S. human spaceflights occurred for the remainder of the decade.

The success of science and applications satellites and planetary probes continued in the 1970s. The Landsat program was initiated to provide environmental information on such topics as land resources and pollution on the Earth's surface. In 1973, Pioneer 10 became the first probe to fly by Jupiter, and, in 1979, Pioneer 11 was the first probe to fly by Saturn. In 1974, Mariner 10 became the first probe to fly by Mercury. In 1976, Vikings 1 and 2 were the first U.S. probes to land on the surface of Mars.

NASA also undertook other astronomical and space physics projects such as four series of Earth orbiting observatories: the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO), the Orbiting Astronomy Observatory (OAO), the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO), and the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO). In addition, NASA began a series of Explorer spacecraft probes such as the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), which launched in 1978 and conducted a variety of astrophysical observations in the ultraviolet spectra. Two Helios spacecraft, which were joint U.S.-German efforts to examine the Sun, were launched in 1974 and 1976.

The 1980s

After a hiatus of 6 years, American astronauts once again returned to space with the first Space Shuttle launch, on April 12, 1981. A total of 24 successful Shuttle flights occurred before the January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger accident. The Space Shuttle exploded shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members. After the cause of the accident was discovered and fixes made, the Space Shuttle returned to flight on September 29, 1988.

In 1984, President Reagan endorsed development of a permanently occupied Space Station for operation in the mid-1990s. Skylab, the first U.S. space station, was never intended to be permanently occupied. This proposed space station, named Freedom in 1988, was redesigned several times in the 1980s due to changes to the shuttle program after the Challenger accident, rising costs, and lower than expected funding.

Limited budgets in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the development of fewer, large spacecraft with longer development times than those built previously, and the Challenger accident led to fewer launchings of space science probes and applications satellites in the 1980s. Prior to the Challenger accident, NASA and DOD were relying on the Space Shuttle fleet to launch most of their major spacecraft. The accident and the subsequent 32-month hiatus before the Shuttle returned to flight convinced NASA and the broader space community that a "mixed fleet" consisting of both the Shuttle and expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) would be necessary to assure continued access to space. Thus, the commercialization of the U.S. launch vehicle industry began to increase markedly as the private sector began to build ELVs to satisfy its own needs in addition to those of the military and NASA.

In 1989, the Space Shuttle launched the Magellan and Galileo space probes. Magellan's mission (completed successfully) was to map Venus's surface. Galileo flew by the asteroids Gaspra and Ida in 1991 and 1993, respectively. Its primary mission began in December 1995, when it went into orbit around Jupiter. Voyager 2, which was launched in 1977, became the first probe to fly by Uranus (January 1986) and Neptune (August 1989), leaving Pluto the only planet in our solar system not visited by a probe.

In addition to planetary probes, some astronomical and earth sciences spacecraft were launched in the early 1980s. The Solar Max satellite, which was launched in 1980, was the first spacecraft to study specific phenomena of the Sun, using coordinated instrumentation. Landsats 4 and 5 were launched in 1982 and 1984, respectively, to continue operation of the Landsat system. The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) was launched in 1983 to make the first all-sky infrared survey. Launched in 1989, the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft examined subtle differences in background radiation to provide clues about the universe's formation after the Big Bang.

The 1990s

Daniel S. Goldin, appointed by President Bush, became the ninth Administrator of NASA on April 1, 1992. After increased budgets in the late 1980s, constraints on NASA's funding since 1990 have caused many observers inside and outside of NASA to reexamine the space agency's goals and methods of doing business. Administration officials including Administrator Goldin have pushed for the "reinvention" of NASA, stressing "faster, cheaper, better" missions as the key to more efficient programs that still achieve their scientific and technical goals. During the early 1990s, NASA's overall budgets began to decline.

While technology traditionally has been a focus of NASA, Administrator Goldin has refocused attention on this area and also made partnerships with industry an important objective. Through the use of advanced technologies, Mr. Goldin believes it will be possible to succeed in developing smaller, more efficient spacecraft. He has stressed the importance of forging new partnerships between NASA and industry to share the financial burdens of space and aeronautics programs.

Similarly, many observers agree that NASA needs both to adapt existing commercial technologies for its own purposes and to improve "spinoff" of its relevant technologies to the private sector. Over the past 30 years, NASA has produced a wide range of products with consumer and industrial applications in non-aerospace fields such as medicine, agriculture, construction, and the environment. Some people, however, question whether the Nation is getting its money's worth from NASA's budget in this regard. While it is difficult to assess accurately the precise economic benefits from government- developed technology being transferred to the private sector, several older studies have found that the amount of funding that NASA invests in R&D is usually much less than the value of technological spinoffs. (See Endnote 4.) In any event, technology transfer stands to be an important issue in lean budget times, as it could lay the groundwork for greater cooperation and cost sharing with private industry.

In the area of human space presence, the International Space Station (ISS) has continued to be a highly controversial issue for NASA, as critics have tried repeatedly to cancel the program. NASA has restructured the International Space Station program a number of times. The latest version added Russia to the list of participating countries. (See Endnote 5.) It is hoped that Russia's participation, based on 26 years of operating space stations, will help create significant cost savings. (See Endnote 6.) Recent delays in the program due to lack of funding for Russian components has diminished the anticipated savings. Part of the controversy concerns the basic rationale for building and operating the International Space Station. More recently, concern has centered on Russia's ability to fund its commitment to the program. While NASA currently has no specific plans for humans to return to the Moon or to visit Mars, (See Endnote 7.) Station supporters have argued that valuable scientific data on materials research and the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body could be obtained from a permanent outpost in space. Critics contend that there is no urgent need for a space station today and that NASA's program is too expensive and not well justified.

During the 1990s, congressional and media attention also have focused on the successes and failures of NASA's space science programs. Shortly after the much-heralded Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was put into orbit in 1990, scientists discovered a spherical aberration in HST's main mirror. During a dramatic Space Shuttle servicing mission of HST in December 1993, astronauts installed corrective optics that enabled HST to gaze clearly into the far reaches of the universe. No such recovery was possible for another NASA spacecraft, however. In August 1993, contact was lost with the Mars Observer spacecraft just prior to entering into a Martian orbit. To recover from this large disappointment, NASA has instituted the Mars Surveyor program, a series of low-cost spacecraft to explore Mars. Built and launched quickly, they will, among other tasks, collect some of the data that would have been obtained by Mars Observer. Missions to Mars began to receive increased interest in 1996 when NASA scientists announced evidence that life may have once existed on ancient Mars. Two NASA missions to Mars were launched in 1996, Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor. Mars Pathfinder landed on the surface of Mars July 4, 1997, and sucessfully carried out its program plan. Mars Global Surveyor went into orbit around Mars in September 1997 and is slowly lowering its orbit.

A number of other significant space science programs include astronomical, physics, and planetary exploration. Under development, the Cassini spacecraft is to explore Saturn and is probably one of the last large space probes that NASA will build for the foreseeable future. Cassini was launched in October 1997. The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) was launched in 1989 to examine gamma ray emissions from around the universe and to learn more about the possible causes of black holes, quasars, and supernovae. In space physics, one spacecraft, Wind, in the Global Geospace Science (GGS) program, was launched in 1994 and the other, Polar, in February 1996.

NASA also has been steadily building up its Earth science programs in recent years. The Earth Science Office is responsible for the Earth Observing System (EOS), the Landsat spacecraft, and other environmental monitoring spacecraft. The launch of the first EOS spacecraft, EOS-AM-1, is scheduled for June 1998. In keeping with the Clinton Administration's policy agenda, space-based environmental programs have grown rapidly over the past few years. This growth came under scrutiny by House Republicans in the 104th Congress.

In 1995, NASA also initiated a new effort, the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program, to develop and flight-test technologies for a new reusable launch vehicle that one day might replace the space shuttle. The program involves significant participation by the private sector. Its goal is to validate technologies that would allow for the development of an operational RLV that would be fully funded and operated by the private sector.

Current NASA Organization

NASA's organization consists of NASA headquarters and several research and space flight field centers and associated facilities located throughout the United States. The administrator of NASA is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The agency currently employs approximately 19,400 civil servants. NASA is currently an agency that is experiencing declining budgets, reductions in personnel, and shifts in program management.

As part of its strategic planning process, the agency has established four strategic enterprises to function as primary business areas for implementing NASA's mission. Each enterprise has a unique set of strategic goals, objectives, and implementation strategies, and is headed by an enterprise associate administrator. The four enterprises are: Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology (ASTT), the Space Science Enterprise (SSE), Earth Science Enterprise (ESE formerly Mission to Planet Earth), and Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS).

The following sections discuss the current status of the NASA organization, focusing on four main areas: NASA headquarters, the field centers, the Zero Base Review, and the agency's strategic management plan.

NASA Headquarters

NASA headquarters exercises management over the space flight centers, research centers, and associated installations. NASA headquarters is responsible for long-range strategic planning, program formulation, external advocacy and resource allocation for the agency's science and technology programs. Headquarters also establishes policy, defines requirements and objectives, and assesses performance of the agency's programs. It is divided into several program offices which plan, direct, and manage distinct research and development programs. Headquarters also has several functional and staff offices, which advise the NASA administrator, oversee agency workforce activities and facilities, set agency-wide standards, and assist in compliance with statutory, regulatory, and fiduciary responsibilities. Table 1 lists the program offices and managers, and Table 2 lists the functional/staff offices and managers.

Driven initially by the need to formulate more realistic budgets and to achieve a streamlined workforce, NASA headquarters has been restructuring the way it does business by changing its management structure and reducing its civil servant workforce. In early 1996, Administrator Goldin decided to transfer program management responsibilities and some support functions to the field centers and establish "lead centers" to coordinate major programs. Over 200 headquarters staff will have been transferred to the field centers in that effort by the end of FY1997. Employee levels at headquarters peaked at 2,078 full-time-equivalents (FTEs) in FY1993. The agency's target for headquarters is now 954 FTEs by FY2000.

NASA Field Centers

NASA's principal technical strength lies in its nine field centers and one federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) facility. Each center has its own mission and roles that carry out NASA's many programs and projects. Four of the centers are principally concerned with aeronautical research: Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Langley Research Center, and Lewis Research Center. Four of NASA's centers deal primarily with human space flight operations and systems: Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, John F. Kennedy Space Center, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, and John C. Stennis Space Center. Two facilities are the principal space science centers: Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Except for JPL, an FFRDC, all these centers are federally owned and operated facilities.

The current roles of NASA's field centers are described below. As part of its Zero Base Review (see below) functions at the NASA centers are being streamlined, so each center becomes a "center of excellence," concentrating on specific aspects of NASA's mission. In step with transferring program management responsibilities from headquarters to the centers, each center also has an identified primary mission for managing NASA programs.

Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA. Ames' primary mission areas are aviation operation systems and astrobiology. ARC also is NASA's center of excellence in information systems technologies. ARC's principal program responsibilities are concentrated in computational aerodynamics and flight testing, computational/numerical simulation, rotorcraft technology, short and vertical takeoff and landing technology, life sciences dealing with gravitational biology and exobiology, human-vehicle interactions, autonomous systems, and guidance and controls.

Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Dryden's primary mission area is flight research. DFRC is NASA's center of excellence for atmospheric flight operations. DFRC also functions as the backup landing site for the Space Shuttle and provides servicing support including mating the Shuttle with its carrier aircraft. In 1994, the DFRC returned to its earlier status as an independent center; for several years it had been a functional unit of Ames.

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Greenbelt, MD. Goddard's primary mission areas are Earth science and physics and astronomy. GSFC is NASA's center of excellence for scientific research. GSFC's principal roles include the development and operation of Earth orbital flight experiments and spacecraft to conduct scientific investigations in our solar system and the universe, management of tracking and data acquisition activities, operation of an instrumented flight range for aeronautical and space research, and procurement of expendable launch services for small and medium payloads. Goddard is responsible for the development of the Earth Observing System (EOS) and its associated data system, in addition to operations of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The Wallops Flight Facility (Wallops Island, VA), which conducts suborbital scientific experiments using balloons and sounding rockets, is an operational element and component installation of Goddard. The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York also is affiliated with GSFC. GISS research emphasizes a broad study of global change.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is the only NASA center that is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility. JPL is operated under contract to NASA by the California Institute of Technology. Its primary mission area is planetary science and exploration and it is NASA's center of excellence for deep space missions. JPL is responsible for the conduct of automated missions concerned with scientific exploration of the solar system and deep space; management of the Deep Space Network (DSN); spacecraft tracking and data acquisition; space science research and analysis; and the development of advanced spacecraft technologies including propulsion, power, structures, guidance and control, thermal control, and electronics.

Johnson Space Center (JSC) Houston, TX. Johnson's primary mission areas are human exploration and astromaterials. It is NASA's center of excellence for human operations in space. JSC is responsible for the selection and training of astronauts and is the lead center for the Space Shuttle program. Its main shuttle responsibilities also include flight operations, mission planning, operational procedures, and flight control (Mission Control Center is located at JSC). JSC also is the lead center for development of the International Space Station.

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Cape Canaveral, Florida. Kennedy's primary mission area is space launch. It is NASA's center of excellence for launch and cargo processing systems. KSC is involved in Space Shuttle launch operations, including orbiter processing, final payload checkout and integration with the Shuttle, Shuttle launch, landing, and postlanding. KSC also handles Space Station operational launch-readiness planning.

Langley Research Center (LaRC) Hampton, VA. Langley's primary mission areas are airframe systems and atmospheric science. It is NASA's center of excellence for structures and materials. The majority of Langley's work is in aeronautics. Its principal roles are in airframe aerodynamics and structures research and technology; hypersonic propulsion; experimental and theoretical aerodynamics; environmental quality monitoring by remote sensing; materials, guidance and controls; and airframe/propulsion integration of aerospace planes.

Lewis Research Center (LeRC) Cleveland, OH. Lewis's primary mission area is aeropropulsion and it is NASA's center of excellence for turbomachinery. LeRC is involved in the conduct of aeronautical propulsion, nuclear space propulsion, electric space propulsion, and space power research and technology; space communications research and technology; development of microgravity sciences for fluid physics and combustion science; and procurement of expendable launch services on intermediate and large payload vehicles.

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville, AL. Marshall's primary mission areas are transportation systems development and microgravity research. It is NASA's center of excellence for space propulsion. MSFC is responsible for managing the Space Shuttle Main Engine, Solid Rocket Booster, and External Tank projects of the Space Shuttle system. The center conducts, develops, and manages development of advanced space transportation technologies; conducts and develops experiments in materials processing in space; manages NASA's activities with Spacelab, which flies in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle; manages the Space Station's pressurized module development and the station's permanently inhabited capability; and conducts space science activities such as the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) development. Michoud Assembly Facility (New Orleans, LA) is an operational element and component installation of MSFC.

John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) Bay St. Louis, MS. Stennis's primary mission area is propulsion testing. It is NASA's center of excellence for propulsion testing systems. SSC's responsibilities include Space Shuttle Main Engine testing, future rocket propulsion testing, and Earth resources research and technology transfer. SSC is the lead center for commercial remote sensing.

Zero Base Review

In step with the FY1996 budget process, in January 1995, the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed NASA to cut $5 billion from the agency's 5-year budget plan. NASA's response, known as the Zero Base Review (ZBR) identified $4 billion in savings from FY1997 through FY2000 by cutting jobs and facilities through a significant agency restructuring. The plan did not include any program cuts or closure of any NASA centers.

The review proposed streamlining functions at the NASA centers, so each center would become a center of excellence, concentrating on specific aspects of NASA's mission. At the same time, the proposed changes would reduce overlap and consolidate administration and program functions across the agency. The review also recommended that NASA Headquarters transfer program management responsibility to the field centers and that the agency increase the involvement of outside entities in NASA's science programs by pursuing establishment of science institutes.

Under the review's findings, NASA's total civil service employment would be cut to approximately 17,500 FTEs by the year 2000. That is the lowest level of civil servants at NASA since 1961. The FTE goal for FY 2000 is now set at 17,818. In addition, the budget reductions would cut an estimated 25,000 contractor personnel. The agency has not had to resort to reductions-in-force to lower its civilian servant numbers. NASA's FY1997 appropriations included multiyear buyout authority for NASA which the agency has used extensively. As a result of buyouts and restrictive hiring practices, the agency used only 19,883 FTES in FY1997 compared to the original plan of 20,501. The buyout authority is available through FY2000.

Figure 2 displays NASA FTE limits from FY1993 to FY2000. Table 3 details the number of civil servant personnel at NASA headquarters and the various field centers from FY1998 through FY1999.

NASA Strategic Plan

In 1992, after the appointment of Dan Goldin as administrator, NASA began to recognize a need for an effective strategic management process. At that time, the agency had questionable budget expectations and lacked consensus on priorities and goals. Externally, there also was the perception that the agency was directionless as a result of the end of the Cold War. Previously developed agency strategic plans were seen as "wish lists" that had no perception of budget realities.

Vice President Gore's National Performance Review and the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 (P.L. 103-62) added further impetus for the development of an agency strategic planning process. (See Endnote 8.)

From October 1993 through May 1994, NASA held a series of retreats for senior managers and established several employee working groups to develop an agency strategic plan. The foundation for the plan was based on the NASA Act of 1958, the National Space Policy of 1989, and employee inputs. During this time the agency identified its strategic enterprises and strategic functions and agreed on an agency vision and mission with associated values and goals. The first strategic plan from this process was published in May 1994. Revised plans were published in February 1995 and February 1996.

To comply with GPRA, NASA submitted a revised 5-year strategic plan to Congress on September 30, 1997. (See Endnote 9.) Further agency changes have taken place since the 1996 version. The most significant is the elimination of the Space Technology enterprise, resulting in the agency having only four strategic enterprises instead of five as stated in the 1996 plan. The plan contains the agency vision, its mission, and a strategic roadmap defining the near-, mid-, and long-term goals that NASA intends to achieve in its mission areas over the next 25 years. The plan also contains more detailed plans for each of the enterprises. As stated in the plan, the agency's vision is as follows:

NASA is an investment in America's future. As explorers, pioneers, and innovators, we boldly expand frontiers in air and space to inspire and serve America and to benefit the quality of life on Earth.

The agency's mission is divided into three main areas. Each of these mission areas has near-, mid-, and long-terms goals. NASA's three strategic missions are as follows:

- to advance and communicate scientific knowledge and understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe and use the environment of space for research;

- to explore, use, and enable the development of space for human enterprise; and

- to research, develop, verify, and transfer advanced aeronautics, space, and related technologies.

 

ENDNOTES

1. For more information on NASA's aeronautics research, see: Orders of Magnitude: A History of the NACA and NASA, 1915-1990, by Roger E. Bilstein. (NASA SP-4406). 1989. Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Management, Scientific and Technical Information Division.

2. The Apollo program was not without its failures. On January 27, 1967, three astronauts (Grissom, White, and Chaffee) died of asphyxiation during a fire in the first Apollo spacecraft during prelaunch tests.

3. Debris from Skylab that did not burn up in the atmosphere rained over the Indian Ocean and parts of Western Australia.

4. Studies by Chase Econometrics, Inc., and the Midwest Research Institute in the late 1980s determined that every NASA R&D dollar produced $5-$9 in economic activity. The latest similar study was done by the Chapman Research Group, Inc. in 1989 and concluded that the bulk of a sampling of NASA technology transfer activities created significant economic gains. NASA produces an annual volume entitled Spinoffs that covers the variety of offshoot technologies from the agency's research.

5. In addition to Russia, the international partners include Japan, Canada, and 10 of the 14 member states of the European Space Agency (ESA).

6. Russia's current operational space station, Mir, is its seventh since 1971.

7. In 1989, the twentieth anniversary of the first Apollo landing on the Moon, President Bush outlined a strategy called the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). Under this plan, the Space Station would be the initial step for lunar and Martian exploration. The SEI program was canceled by Congress in FY1993 because of budget constraints.

8. GPRA encourages greater efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in federal spending, and requires agencies to set goals and use performance measures for management and, ultimately, for budgeting.

9. The Act requires that agencies update their strategic plans at least every 3 years.