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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Office of Inspector General
Washington, D.C. 20546

July 10, 2003

RELEASE 2003-044: IMPROVING MANAGEMENT OF THE ASTRONAUT CORPS

The review "Improving Management of the Astronaut Corps" (G-01-035)
has been posted to the NASA Office of Inspector General Web site at:  
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oig/hq/inspections/g-01-035.pdf

The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the management
of the astronaut corps.  The OIG considered whether the NASA
astronaut corps was being used effectively, was supportive of the
Agency's current and future mission, and was managed in accordance
with governing policies and procedures.  We conducted this review
because the effective management of the astronaut corps is integral
to the success of NASA's mission.

Our report was scheduled to be released in final form in February
2003.  However, when the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew were
lost we decided to delay the release of the report until a more
appropriate time.  Now that NASA is working to recruit an Astronaut
Candidate Class of 2004 that includes pilots, mission specialists,
and educator astronauts, we believe that our recommendations will aid
the decision- making process.

Results of Review

The substance of the report has not been adjusted to reflect the loss 
of the Columbia or its crew.  We found overly optimistic predictions
of future flight rates, minimal regulation of astronaut candidate
selection, and the need to staff engineering positions at Johnson
Space Center to be factors in the Agency's astronaut hiring process.
As a result, costs for the astronaut program were higher than
necessary and not all individuals trained to be astronauts were being
used in a manner commensurate with their expensive training.  We
projected that the mission specialists in the class of 2000 would
wait an average of 105 months to fly for the first time.  Based on
our projection, the last mission specialist in that class would not
fly until April 2010 (116 months after joining the astronaut corps).

Recommendations

To assist the Agency in assuring that the size of the corps is more 
closely aligned with mission and program needs, we recommended that
the Agency establish formal guidelines for certain aspects of the
astronaut candidate selection process, conduct more realistic
analyses of astronaut corps size needs, document reasons for
deviating from those analyses, and establish formal criteria for
astronaut technical assignments.

Management's Response

NASA management concurred with our recommendations and has planned 
corrective actions that we consider responsive.

To comment on this report, please send e-mail to
igrelease{at}hq.nasa.gov

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Report Crime, Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement to the NASA OIG
Hotline at:  800-424-9183, TDD 800-535-8134.

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