Iss. Hover, while the range of iss uses is expanding the resources to support them are not. Funding for the iss Research Represents a mere 12 of the overall iss budget. Constraints on Cargo Transportation, as well as Available Power and precious crew time limit what research can be accomplished at the station. In that regard i know many of us want to understand the implications of cargo resupply operations. Crew operations and the sustainability of the station. In addition, mr. Chairman, theres critical work to be done on the iss and Human Health Research and Technology Development that needs to be carried out if were going to make progress toward the longterm goal of sending humans to mars. In january 2014, the Obama Administration proposed to extend iss operations until at least 2024. The administration has three rationales for the extension. To complete iss research that supports Long DurationHuman Missions beyond lower earth orbit to garner societal benefits. Some of which we see here. And to give nasa and private partners more time to transition to commercial cargo and crew allowing nasa to focus on human exploration of deep space. Todays hearing provides the opportunity to examine those rationales in the context of the cost and risk that nasa and its International Partners will face in sustaining the iss for that length of time. We have a lot to discuss and i want to thank our witnesses for being here. With that, i yield back. Thank you, ms. Edwards. I recognize the Ranking Member of the full committee for a statement. The gentle lady from texas. Thank you, mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing on the International Space station. This really san important topic, and i look forward to the testimony of our panel of witnesses, and i welcome them. Its no secret ive been a long supporter of the iss. It plays a unique role in furthering research advance in human space flight and inspiring our young people. In addition to being an incredible engineering achievement, it provides a very visible demonstration of the benefits that can be derived from peaceful International Cooperation in space. Failures of commercial Cargo Transportation missions to the iss remind us that space flight is not easy. Failures will occur, and unfortunately, these failures will have impacts on the program. We need to better understand those impacts, as well as the plans for dealing with them going forward. And we need to know whether there are any Lessons Learned that need to be applied to the far more challenging commercial Crew Transportation Program. Ive said before that the iss is a perishable commodity. We need to be clear on what nasa needs to accomplish with this unique laboratory while it is still operational. While the administration has proposed to extend the iss operations until 2024, maintaining the iss involves risk and significant opportunity costs. And we need to ensure the iss is being used in a way that maximizes productivity and value to the nation. In addition, if we are to ensure the needed iss research and Technology Activities are carried out, it is clear. We are going to need to make the necessary investments. Stagnant iss research budgets do not communicate the message that we are serious about supporting the Important Research and Technology Efforts that can only be accomplished on the iss. That is the problem that congress could and should fix. Well mr. Chairman, we have a lot of issues to discuss today, and i welcome our witnesses and look forward to a productive hearing. I thank you and kwleeldyield back. If there are members who wish to submit additional Opening Statements your statements will be added to the record at this point. Id like to introduce our witnesses. Bill gerstenmeyer is the associate administrator of human exploration and Operations Mission directorate at nasa. Our second witness today is john elbon. Vice president and general manager of Space Exploration for the boeing company. Testifying third is the honorable paul martin who has served as nasas Inspector General since 2009. Our third witness miss Shelby Oakley acting director of sourcing for the government adowntownability office gao. And dr. James pavelsik an associate of kinesiology at the Pennsylvania State universality and a retired astronaut. Please limit your testimony to five minutes. Your entire written statement will be made part of the record. I now recognize mr. Gertenmeyer for five minutes to present his testimony. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of myself and the men and women that work on the International Space station. This is one of the most talented and dedicated International Teams in the world. The iss is an Amazing Research facility. There are 329 Research Investigations in progress. These span top ics from Human Research into how the human bootd performs in microgravity, basic biology and biotechnology physical science, earth and space science, Technology Development and education. Theres never been this scope of research performed on a continuous basis in space. Were also in the midst of a oneyear crew expedition. It will give details information into human adaptation into the space environment with mission durations approximately equal to the mars transit thymeime. Also the chance to see how the human genome changes when exposed to microgravity. 83 countries from around the world have used the iss for research. Private companies have used the iss. This week in boston, there was an iss users conference. This is an exciting time as many new researchers are beginning to see the advantages of spacebased research. The growth of nannasa research is exciting and shows a generic interest in using the unique properties of space to investigate Research Opportunities typically only done on the earth. Space provides a unique window into a process affected by gravity. Many mimic conditions involving the elderly. Using animal models unique insight and potential new treatments for the elderly can be developed based on space station research. Operating under frontier space is not easy. In the past nine months three independent cargo planes were lost on the way to the iss. This shows the difficulty of working and operating in space. They have different designs heritages, manufacturing, different build processes and utilize different ascent trajectories. The failure of these three systems shows the difficulty of launching and operating in space. We often think iss is only 250 miles away and the journey is easy. This is not true. Were operating them at the edge of our engineering capability and if only we provide more insight and oversight we can limit the cargo delivery. The demands expose us to the same level of risk no matter how much insight we add. But the insight can give us insight and help us understand the designs to make sure we can end up with better designs. The right level of insight can reduce and find design errors. However, too much insight can distract the teams from work og and improving design. Even after these three failures the basic iss operations were not impacted. This is a tribute to the teams that manage the is spp they are implementing the hard lessons from the columbia tragedy that, where the iss had to operate without the shuttle for several years. Management processes and logistics resupply techniques learned are proving their worth. Several of the Agency Performance goals associated with research and cargo flights will not be met. The iss program is reducing consumable margins to favor research. This will not be enough to recover the research impactss. The delay in the soyuz required the iss to operate with three cry crew for three weeks longer. The impact of the loss had real implications to students nrd researchers who lost cargo only to lose the replacement and return to flight hardware again on the spaxcex flight. The loss of the docking adapter can be adopted without affecting the program but will result in a dollar loss to iss. Issa a issa is a phenomenal resource. It can serve for private entrep nears, help nasa prepare and benefits directly people on the earth. Congressional support through at least 2024 would be a positive sign to the International Partners and future users of iss. Operating under frontier is not easy and we need not think that they are too routine or easy. They are not. The iss team has done a great job of managing a technically demanding vurmts. Theyll continue to look for ways to improve. Iss teams need to be given flexiblity to manage and others need to understand dissimilar redundancy and how it can be used to provide robustness. The benefits will take longer to realize but it will exceed the expectations of all involved. Id also like to thank the committee for their support for human space flight. I look forward to your questions. Thank you. Yes, sir, thank you, mr. Gefrtenmaier. I now recognize mr. Elbon to present his testimony. Chairman babin, Ranking Member edwards and members of the subcommittee. On behalf of the boeing company thank you for the opportunity to testify to provide an update on boeings role in the International Space station. As one of your constituents, congrat oolgss congratulations on your selection to lead this committee. Boeing is proud to have supported nasa in the design, integration and assembly of iss. As nassanasas prime we continue in the iss sustainment role today. On november 2nd the world will celebrate 15 years of continuous presence in space human presence in space. With International Crews living and working aboard the iss. At a time when many decry a gap in americas Space Program as we transition from Space Shuttle to commercial transportation, we who know hiiss know we are milwaukeeing ingmaking advancements in space every day. Its been recognized as the largest scientific and engineering project in history. And the Worlds Largest endeavor in space to date. Ongoing improvements are making iss even better. The station brought together hardware and software from 16 countries and 37 states and more than 10,000 suppliers in our country. About the size of an american football field the iss is larger than a sixbedroom house and has the internal pressurized volume of a 747. Iss is an engineering marvel a beacon for International Cooperation and shining example of what can be achieved through strong leadership and unity of purpose. As nasas contractor, boeing is responsible for maintaining the station and ensuring the full availability of the unique research lab for nasa, and other countries and private laboratories. We continue to work with nasa to reduce the cost sustaining the space station. Over the past ten years weve reduced the cost by more than 30 . These savings have enabled nasa to fund the nasa docking system, the critical components supporting the increase in the number of vehicles visiting the station. These help keep iss operating at efficiency and strong into the future. With nasa we completed a Technical Assessment of the usable life of major hardware components. The station will be operable through at least 2028. Longterm viability of the station is an important factor in continuing to attract researchers who invest considerable time in preparing their experiments for operation in space. The continuing reliability of iss and improvements plead to further enhance Research Capabilities are a boon. Our work on iss enables many benefits to improve the quality of life here on earth. Iss continues to be used for developing multiple technologies to export to support deep Space Exploration. Nasa is developing highly reliable life support systems to address needs for future exploration habitation systems. The iss is a test bed for learning how the body reacts to weightlessness and allows us to develop countermeasures now. Were learning selfsustainment measures. Such as growing food and sustaining water. Research has led to numerous improvements on earth from the medical field to earth observe agss to providing clean water, to how we diagnose and streettreat patients in remote areas. Ive had an opportunity to work with countries that are not engaged in iss or do not have a Space Program. In every one of these conversations, these leadersprogram. With an all expression, they express a strong desire to be involved in space and more specifically the International Space station. They see the value to provide Stem Education to create hightech nothings and provide a significant source of national pride. The fresh perspectives from leaders outside the partnership recognize the value of on iss serves as a strong reminder of u. S. Leaders and to all with the care in global resource. We must never take what we have from iss for granded. We just continue to make it value for research. Thank you, and i look forward to your questions. Thank you. I now recognize mr. Martin for five minutes to present his testimony. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the discussion about nasas challenges on the International Space statement. A timely top nick the light of the loss of three cargo flights over the last months. And todays hearing in the past two years including reviews that examine nasas plans to extend of ragtss until 2014 24 and the contracts to fight cargo and crew to station. We have five more reviews related to the topic under way. Including an examination of the cargo resupply failure, nasas Behavioral Risk and charges to corporation in space. Our audit last september of nasas plans to extend iss shows that they have no obstacles. However, we found nasa must address a series of technical challenges including shares power. And as well as a limited ability to transsport large parts to station. While nasa officials estimate a bunt between 3 billion or 4 billion through 2024, we anticipate the cost will be higher. Much of the increase is attribute an about to higher transport kothss. Second, most of the International Partners have yet to commitment to station the operations beyond 2020 and a decision by one or not to the to participate could drive up costs for nasa. The number one Operational Risk for the iss program is ensuring the ability to deliver supplies to astronauts. Flights are now on hold pending the outcome of accident investigations and approvals from the faa and nasa. The failed cargo flights have affected nasa in at least three ways. Number one, by reducing available crude time due to delay in the return of the crew compliment. Two, increasing costs to replace the lost research and delaying the return of experiments. The only company capable of bringing car go back to earth. Because they use its a a Research Platform to study human travel and lorn term habitation in space its important part to send humans below earths orbit. Utilization for the iss for research has limited over the years. But for example until a seventh astronaut is brought aboard nasa will not be in a position to maximize crew time. On board crew will reconfigure the iss to accommodate the commercial vehicles nasa hopes will transport astronauts. So that point, nasa gave 6. 8 billion to boeing to complete space flights for crew. But the Program Faces unstable funding, the need to provide timely requirements and guidance to contractors and coordination issues with other agencies. Given its appearance, the oig issued a follow up to review the status of the program. That concludes my prepared remarks, thank you sir. Thank you, mr. Martin. And i now recognize miss oakley for five minutes. Good morning, members of the Sub Committee. Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss geos work. As you know, the United States has spent tens of billions of dollars to own and operation the space station over the decades. The u. S. Could spend more given the potential extension of operations to 2024. Todayly discuss three areas. Nasas budget for ss. Second challenges that could affect increased use of iss and finally steps steps that nasa and cassis can address. Nasa continues to make a significant investment in iss each year. The investment is expected to increase over the next four years mainly because they will begin to found commercial fights. Transportation costs will be 54 of the budget. Unlike transportation costs, costs to operate and conduct research are expected to remain stable until 2028. The fundings are crew safety and transportation transportation. Maintaining the fascileity and research. It can affect the funding for research. Furthermore. The result of the planned extension is unknown. Nasa has challenges that could affect the use of