NASA needs to do a better job containing costs for its expensive projects or risk losing support for all of its missions, according to a National Research Council report published Tuesday.
The report found that unrealistic cost estimates, funding instability and problems with technology development and launch services were the most common reasons driving up costs.
The chairman of the committee that wrote the report, Ronald Sega, said containing costs and staying on schedule will enable greater opportunities for new projects.
"Cost and schedule considerations are important for NASA missions," said Sega, an engineering professor at Colorado State University. "Although the agency is already taking action to address these issues, NASA needs a comprehensive plan to improve the mission planning and development process."
The report also found that a relatively small number of missions appear responsible for most cost overruns. If one mission doesn't meet its schedule, the problems can domino into delays for other missions.
The report urged NASA to get independent estimates for projects based on the complexity of what is proposed. The agency should focus on missions costing at least $500 million.
Read the report on NASA spending.
-Bart Jansen, Washington
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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Worried about NASA ? --- President Barack Obama today sent to Congress a proposed defense budget of $663.8 billion for fiscal 2010. The budget request for the Department of Defense (DoD) includes $533.8 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund base defense programs and $130 billion to support overseas contingency operations, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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