Nov 3 1999
From The Space Library
A large section of the outer wall of one of the Lockheed Martin X-33 rocket plane's two liquid hydrogen fuel tanks separated 2 hours after completing pressure and structural tests at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Lockheed intended the X-33 prototype to lead to the development of its VentureStar' Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), and NASA planned to replace its fleet of Space Shuttles with a fleet of Lockheed's VentureStarTM RLVs after 2012. The latest problem potentially delayed the X-33's first test flight at least an additional six months, essentially guaranteeing that Lockheed Martin would be unable to produce an operational VentureStar' vehicle by 2004. NASA had "placed a huge wager" on the VentureStarTM, committing US$941 million to the X-33 program, which had been threatened by technical problems and cost overruns for more than a year. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) examiners had criticized the project for its rising costs, warning that "delays in the prototype would harm NASA's plans for a full-scale reusable vehicle.”
GAO reported that NASA had "inadvertently exported radiation-hardened, microcircuit, optical coupler parts to Russia," relying on the manufacturer's statement that the so-called rad-hard parts were not on the U.S. Department of State's Munitions List and that, therefore, NASA was not required to obtain an export license. GAO also reported that NASA was "preparing to export sensitive encryption technology to Japan and Europe," technology transfers related to building the International Space Station (ISS). Under international agreements related to the space station, NASA was obligated to deliver, disclose, or transfer certain technology, data, and commodities to other nations involved in building the ISS. GAO had investigated NASA's export-control procedures after members of Congress expressed concern about safeguards to protect technology and information exported to support the ISS. GAO evaluators' conclusions were similar to those of NASA's Inspector General, who had reported earlier that NASA's export-control procedures were likely inadequate for the technology exchanges necessary under the ISS program.
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