The costs of US Department of Defense military space programs continue to spiral far beyond budgets and suffer years-long delays, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report on Wednesday.
"Costs for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite program grew 118 percent and its first satellite was launched more than 3.5 years late," the report stated. "Costs for the Space Based Infrared System grew nearly 300 percent and its scheduled launch was delayed roughly nine years."
Ground system delays have been so lengthy that satellites sometimes spend years in orbit before key capabilities can be fully utilized. The launch of the first GPS satellite has been delayed almost four years because of technical problems, the GAO noted.
"Development challenges for the satellite's ground system have resulted in delays so significant that the Air Force has started two other ground system efforts as workarounds to mitigate risk of delayed GPS capability," the report said.
It remains unclear how the Defense Department will overcome a number of challenges that risk the timely fielding of upgraded GPS user equipment for soldiers, the GAO cautioned.
How Gorbachev Destroyed the USSR's Military Space Program, and What It Cost Russia
Thirty years ago, in May 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in the Baikonur Cosmodrome to personally order the closure of the USSR's military space program. Three decades on, Russian military observer Alexander Khrolenko looks back on what last Soviet leader's decision cost the country then, and what toll it continues to take on Russia.
In an article dedicated to the anniversary … read more
