Beth Schmid
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   May 8, 1996
(Phone:  202/358-1760)

RELEASE:  96-91


DOD/NASA COORDINATING BOARD FINDS WAYS TO AVOID COSTS

     The Department of Defense and NASA are working together 
to share resources and save money.

     The Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board 
(AACB), chaired by Under Secretary of Defense for 
Acquisition and Technology, Dr. Paul Kaminski, and NASA 
Acting Deputy Administrator, General John Dailey, met 
recently to review the results of several months of work by 
both agencies.  This initiative, begun in 1995, is intended 
to achieve significant reductions in investment and 
operations costs and to enhance mission effectiveness and 
cost efficiencies through increased cooperation among DOD 
and NASA activities at all organizational levels. 

     "These are not new savings but efficiencies we've found 
to take care of the budget cuts we have already been 
allocated," Dailey said.  For example, by combining 
spacecraft technology demonstrations and sharing results 
from each other's experiments having similar objectives, 
officials have estimated a potential cost avoidance of $60 
million.  Additional examples of cost savings include:

     At Edwards Air Force Base/Dryden Flight Research Center 
in Edwards, CA, a $14 million cost avoidance is being 
achieved through sharing a C-17 aircraft hangar, and another 
$60,000 a year can be saved by sharing the cryogenics 
systems facility there.  Also at Edwards/Dryden, NASA will 
use the Air Force's aircraft paint facility, saving $128,000 
a year, and the Air Force will use Dryden's tracking radar 
to save $370,000 a year.  Another example of cooperation is 
the sharing of a day care facility for the families of 
Edwards/Dryden employees. 

     At Langley Air Force Base/Langley Research Center, 
Hampton, VA, a $445,000 cost avoidance will be achieved 
through joint use of an alternate fueling facility.  At the 
Army's Redstone Arsenal/Marshall Space Flight Center, 
Huntsville, AL, a cost avoidance of $200,000 a year will be 
realized by the Army's use of Marshall's photo laboratory.  

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     At Patrick Air Force Base/Kennedy Space Center, FL, 
cost avoidances will be achieved through NASA's use of the 
Air Force's medical supplies for its employee health 
facility.  The AACB will continue to look for new areas 
where DOD and NASA can work together to save money, Dailey 
said.  

     Dr. Kaminski said, "We need to keep the emphasis on 
identifying additional savings in major facilities" and 
provided suggestions for additional work in this area in the 
future, to include the development of improved cost models 
on which to base decisions.

     The AACB work was accomplished through joint DOD and 
NASA Integrated Product Teams in seven major areas:  
Technology and Laboratories, Major Facilities, Space Launch, 
Center/Base Support and Services, Satellite Telemetry, 
Tracking and Command, Personnel Exchange and Interagency 
Agreements.  These teams developed recommendations covering 
a wide range of activities from specific technologies such 
as micro-electromechanical devices and fly-by-light systems 
to infrastructure improvements such as combined support 
contracts at field centers and exchange of scientists and 
engineers.  Recommendations made for standardization of 
telemetry, tracking, and command and control have potential 
for significant cost avoidance and increased efficiency in 
the future.

     Implementation of the recommendations will be monitored 
through the standing panels of the AACB.  A report 
documenting the effort will be available in August.

                     -end-

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