The U.S. Department of Defense is not meeting original cost, schedule and performance goals established for the Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) program, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

When the program was initiated in 2004, the Pentagon estimated TSAT’s total acquisition cost to be $15.5 billion and that it would launch the first satellite in April 2011. TSAT’s current formal cost estimate is nearly $16 billion and the initial launch date has slipped to September 2014, according to “Space Acquisitions: DOD Needs Additional Knowledge as it Embarks on a New Approach for Transformational Satellite Communications System,” released May 24. “Furthermore, while the performance goal of the full five- satellite constellation has not changed, the initial delivery of capability will be less than what DOD originally planned,” the GAO said.

The Department of Defense’s Quadrennial Defense Review called for the TSAT program to be restructured so that the satellite network is fielded in lower-risk blocks, with improvements incorporated incrementally. TSAT is designed to provide soldiers on the move with robust Internet-like communications capabilities. Block one of TSAT, which will encompass satellites one and two, will have reduced requirements for the satellites’ laser communications links and internet-like processor routers. These will be enhanced for the remaining three TSAT spacecraft, which will be part of block two, according to an Air Force document.

“As DOD prepares to implement a new incremental development approach for the program, it faces gaps in knowledge that could hamper its success,” the GAO said. “An incremental development will mean reduced capabilities in the initial satellites and more advanced capabilities in the remaining satellites. Given this change, it will be important for DOD to update requirements in coordination with the TSAT user community.”