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Open Recommendations

Geostationary Weather Satellites: Next Generation Program Challenges Put Vital Observations at Risk
GAO-26-107739
Oct 16, 2026
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the NOAA Administrator) develops documentation for the updated cost estimate for the GeoXO program that incorporates the best practices for the well-documented characteristic. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the NOAA Administrator) updates contingency plans to identify procedures to deploy call-up spares and address weather data gaps, including impacts of failure scenarios and alternative solutions to address the failure scenarios. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce should ensure the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the NOAA Administrator) documents a comprehensive TRA report for each instrument. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Low-Earth Orbit: NASA Faces Impending Decisions for Replacing International Space Station with Commercial Stations
GAO-26-107805
Jun 17, 2026
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The NASA Administrator, in coordination with the Space Operations Mission Directorate, should use its risk management process to assess the likelihood and duration of a gap in continuous capability or human presence in LEO, including plans to mitigate the likelihood of a gap, if necessary. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The NASA Administrator, in coordination with the Space Operations Mission Directorate, should document the assessment process that NASA will use to make an informed decision on NASA's readiness to retire and deorbit the ISS as planned in 2030. This includes documenting the factors that will be used to make the decision such as the key assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

NASA Artemis Missions: Exploration Ground Systems Program Could Strengthen Schedule Decisions
GAO-25-106943
Oct 17, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The NASA Administrator, in coordination with the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, should ensure that Exploration Ground Systems program and Mobile Launcher 2 project officials perform at least one schedule risk analysis prior to beginning integrated operation activities to support the Artemis IV launch. (Recommendation 1)
Open
NASA partially concurred with this recommendation stating that instead of conducting a schedule risk analysis (SRA), the agency planned to monitor schedule risk using other tools. In February 2026, NASA announced changes to upcoming Artemis missions that no longer utilize the Space Launch System Block 1B, which ML2 was originally designed to support. In May 2026, NASA issued a termination for convenience notification to Bechtel for ML2. Officials said that as of July 2026, NASA is working on closing out the project with the contractor while preparing hardware for long-term storage. GAO will revisit the status of this recommendation when NASA provides additional documentation regarding final project decisions.

Commercial Space Transportation: FAA Should Examine a Range of Options to Support U.S. Launch Infrastructure
GAO-21-154
Dec 22, 2020
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Commercial Space Transportation We recommend that the Associate Administrator for AST provide Congress the results of an examination of a range of options—including funding and financing tools, as well as alternatives to making funding available—to support space transportation infrastructure. This examination should include a discussion of trade-offs and whether and how, if at all, each approach would contribute to national policy goals. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In April and May 2026, AST provided us with updates on the status of its efforts regarding this recommendation. AST said that it has continued to work with the National Spaceport Interagency Working Group (NSIWG) to develop recommendations for support of U.S. launch Infrastructure, though it also said that the bulk of the NSIWG work has been superseded by Executive Order 14369, Ensuring American Space Superiority, and Executive Order 14335, Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry. AST said it that intends on incorporating relevant work identified in the draft NSIWG recommendations under appropriate EO guidance. In addition, as directed under EO 14335, AST said it is working with NASA and DOD to align review processes for spaceport development across agencies, eliminating those that are duplicative, and preserving required federal space-exploration and national security space launch capacity. We will continue to monitor AST's work regarding this recommendation and its actions to identify options to support space transportation infrastructure.
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