GAO-13-747R Precision Tracking Space System

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July 25, 2013

Congressional Committees

Missile Defense: Precision Tracking Space System Evaluation of Alternatives

The Missile Defense Agency’s Precision Tracking Space System (PTSS) is intended to be a 

satellite system equipped with infrared sensors that track ballistic missiles through their emitted 

heat. The planned satellite system includes a constellation of nine satellites in orbit at the same 

time around the earth’s equator. In April 2013, the Department of Defense (DOD) officially 

proposed canceling the PTSS program because of concerns with the program’s high-risk 

acquisition strategy and long-term affordability.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA), signed into law on 

January 2, 2013, mandated, among other things, that DOD’s Director of Cost Assessment and 

Program Evaluation (CAPE) conduct an evaluation of PTSS alternatives and report it to the 

congressional defense committees no later than April 30, 2013.1 The act also limited the use of 

funds made available for fiscal year 2013 for PTSS until (1) DOD submitted to the congressional 

defense committees a formal plan for the evaluation of PTSS alternatives—called a terms of 

reference—that had been approved by the Missile Defense Executive Board in coordination with 

the Defense Space Council,2

Additionally, the act mandated that GAO assess the PTSS terms of reference and evaluation of 

alternatives, and then both brief and report our assessment to the defense committees.

and (2) CAPE completed the evaluation of alternatives.

3

To conduct this work, we reviewed both the terms of reference and the PTSS report to 

determine whether they provided for and assessed alternative systems and concepts, as well as 

to determine whether internal agency coordination occurred consistent with the restrictions and 

requirements for the PTSS program in the Fiscal Year 2013 NDAA. We also interviewed DOD 

officials from CAPE; Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and 

Logistics; Missile Defense Agency; U.S. Strategic Command; and Joint Staff.

To 

meet the requirements of the mandate, we assessed the extent to which (1) the terms of 

reference submitted by DOD addressed an evaluation of alternatives, and (2) the PTSS report

submitted by DOD included an evaluation of alternatives. We offered to brief the defense 

committees in early June 2013, and we are now issuing this final report.

We conducted this performance audit from May 2013 through July 2013 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and 

 1

Pub. L. No. 112-239, § 224. 2

Both the Missile Defense Executive Board and Defense Space Council are senior-level DOD advisory groups for, 

respectively, missile defense and space matters.

3

Specifically, the act mandated GAO to brief the defense committees on the terms of reference and their 

conformance with best practices for analyses of alternatives as well as GAO’s views of the evaluation itself. Final 

reports were to be completed as soon as practicable after the briefing. As DOD did not address an evaluation of 

alternatives in the terms of reference, we did not assess their conformance with best practices.
Page 2 GAO-13-747R Precision Tracking Space System

perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained 

provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our objectives.

Results

On May 13, 2013, DOD submitted to the congressional defense committees a terms of 

reference and a report on a 2012 CAPE review of the PTSS program instead of an evaluation of 

PTSS alternatives. Upon reviewing these items, we determined they did not provide for or 

include an evaluation of PTSS alternatives as required by the Fiscal Year 2013 NDAA. In 

addition, the terms of reference were approved by the Missile Defense Executive Board but not 

in coordination with the Defense Space Council. DOD officials told us the department 

determined that reporting the significant PTSS program risks identified in the 2012 program 

review was the most appropriate response to address the study requirements outlined in the 

NDAA.

According to senior DOD officials, the Secretary of Defense decided to propose canceling the 

PTSS program in November 2012—prior to the January 2013 NDAA requirement for CAPE to 

assess PTSS alternatives. The decision to propose canceling the PTSS program was based on 

a CAPE review, initiated in 2011, of the acquisition, technical, and operational risks of the PTSS 

program. Specifically, this review assessed the PTSS cost, schedule, technical design, and 

acquisition strategy to identify whether risks could challenge the program’s ability to acquire, 

field, and sustain the system within planned cost and schedule constraints. The review was 

completed in the fall of 2012 and determined that the PTSS program had significant technical, 

programmatic, and affordability risks. Accordingly, a team of senior DOD officials recommended

a series of options to DOD leadership and, according to senior DOD officials, the Secretary of 

Defense decided to propose canceling the program. In April 2013, the decision to propose 

canceling the program was made official in the Fiscal Year 2014 President’s Budget 

Submission.

CAPE officials told us that although the report to Congress did not include an alternatives 

assessment, they determined based on initial analysis in the fall of 2012 that other systems 

could potentially satisfy many of the PTSS performance objectives. According to CAPE officials, 

the analysis was not completed before the decision was made to propose canceling PTSS.

Looking forward, DOD officials from multiple organizations told us that there are several efforts 

under way to review missile defense sensor options. Specifically, the Missile Defense Executive 

Board recently tasked CAPE and the Missile Defense Agency to develop an approach for 

upgrading and fielding existing sensor technologies. Furthermore, the U.S. Strategic Command 

and the Missile Defense Agency are conducting a separate study that addresses missile 

defense sensor needs. Similarly, the Missile Defense Agency continues to assess the benefits 

of space systems and related technologies. DOD expects to complete some of these efforts 

later this year in order to inform internal DOD fiscal year 2015 budgetary decisions. We did not 

assess these efforts because they are under way.

We provided a draft of this report to DOD for review and comment. DOD did not provide written 

comments to include in this report. However, in an e-mail received July 23, 2013, the DOD 

Inspector General Congressional Liaison stated that the department had no comments on the 

report.
Page 3 GAO-13-747R Precision Tracking Space System

We are sending this report to the appropriate congressional committees. We are also sending 

this report to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, 

Technology, and Logistics. This report will also be available at no charge on our website at 

http://www.gao.gov. Should you or your staff have questions concerning this report, please 

contact me at (202) 512-4841 or at chaplainc@gao.gov.

Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on 

the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report were David Best, Assistant Director, 

Maricela Cherveny, Tana Davis, Danielle Greene, Brian Tittle, and Alyssa Weir.

Cristina Chaplain, Director

Acquisition and Sourcing Management
Page 4 GAO-13-747R Precision Tracking Space System

List of Committees

The Honorable Carl Levin

Chairman

The Honorable James Inhofe

Ranking Member

Committee on Armed Services

United States Senate

The Honorable Dick Durbin

Chairman

The Honorable Thad Cochran

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate

The Honorable Howard P. “Buck” McKeon

Chairman

The Honorable Adam Smith

Ranking Member

Committee on Armed Services

House of Representatives

The Honorable C.W. “Bill” Young

Chairman

The Honorable Pete Visclosky

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations

House of Representatives

(121143)
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