A Case Study in NASA-DoD - The Black Vault

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does not occur.
For this study, the AACB is the appropriate coordinating
body that could be expected to inquire into the Air Force procurement
of a new standard spacecraft. As will be discussed later in this section,
the AACB inquiry took place between the first and second phases
of the study.
In addition to the pressure of the AACB, the Air Force
faced the traditional budgetary cycle that involves the DoD and the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The budgetary process consists
of a detailed review of both expenditures and objectives on a line-item
basis.
The Air Force usually justifies expenditure of funds on a "new
start" by demonstrating its economic feasibility, especially when there
appears to be alternative means to accomplish the same task. While the
OMB obstacle loomed large for the Air Force Space Test Program Office,
it also represented a significant factor in shaping the behavior of the
NASA 1MMS Program Office as well.
At the time of this study, NASA authorization
for procurement of the complete MMS program had not yet been
given and it was possible that the 0MB review of this line item in
NASA's budget could be mooted by having additional support for the required
expenditures or additional applications for the MMS,
i.e., Air
Force Space Test Program missions.
In addition to the OMB and AACB,
the staff of the Senate Committee
on Aeronautical and Space Sciences inquired at the outset of the study
about the objectives of the study, the motivation of the Air Force Space
Test Program Office regarding the developmental responsibility for the
new spacecraft, and the objectivity and independence of The Rand Corporation
in accomplishing this study. As far as is known, no further Congressional
inquiry has been made concerning this study of the Air Force
standard spacecraft procurement decision. However, should the Air Force
go forward with its own standard spacecraft design, the Congressional
inquiry may be reopened as part of the budgetary review.
MMS Program Office
Participation by the MIS Program Office was not without risk, because
this study, while concentrating on the relative accuracy of the
costs of the candidate spacecraft designs, did produce estimates of the
absolute procurement cost of the lMS. As mentioned above, the risk for