Mon, Mar 09, 2009
NASA Acting Administrator Questioned By Congress After GAO
Audit
Called on the carpet last week by the House Science and
Technology subcommittee to explain cost overruns and project
delays, National Aeronautics and Space Administration acting
administrator Christopher Scolese explained that counterfeit parts
inadvertently installed on NASA spacecraft have contributed to
unforeseen problems with project schedules and budgets.
"We find out late they are counterfeit parts," Scolese said. "We
find out about it while sitting atop a rocket or, worse, find out
about it in space." He added that the problem is not a new one - it
has been going on for years and getting worse. Foreign
manufacturers and counterfeiters make bogus equipment that has
ended up in NASA's supply chain, he said.
The phony parts usually carry authentic-looking logos and
manufacturer markings, and are sold at premium prices. The most
recent instance was detected "a couple of months ago" by NASA
personnel working on the
Kepler space telescope project, Scolese said.
The counterfeit part was removed and replaced, contributing further
to the project's delays and cost overruns.
A recent Government Accountability Office audit of NASA projects
revealed typical cost overruns average 13 percent and launch delays
average 11 months, but did not address the problem of counterfeit
parts. The Kepler project has gone 20 percent over budget, raising
total costs to $595 million.
The Houston Chronicle reports that trade in counterfeit parts
has become big business worldwide. The US government estimates the
bogus parts racket has grown from a $5.5 billion industry in 1982
to $600 billion in 2008, representing seven percent of world
trade.
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