NASA Targets Tighter Cost Controls for $11 Billion Habitable World Observatory

Initial cost estimates for NASA’s Habitable World Observatory (HWO) were approximately $11 billion—comparable to the James Webb Space Telescope and far higher than the project’s initial cost projections.

NASA Seeks International and Commercial Partners

NASA officials say the ambitious space observatory will require broad cooperation from scientists, engineers, industry and international partners.

“Frankly, we’re going to need our international partners to play a big role in this effort as well,” Domagal-Goldman said Tuesday at a meeting of the National Academies’ Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics.

“But we need the best and brightest talent from across the country to join us in our work, including Goddard, other NASA centers, industrial partners, new space commercial partners, and universities.”

Lessons From the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

Domagal-Goldman said NASA aims to use its experience developing and launching the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to keep the Habitable World Observatory within budget and bring future flagship missions under tighter cost controls.

“By launching the Nancy Grace Roman project ahead of schedule and on budget, we have proven that it is not a law of nature for these projects to be over schedule and over budget,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean projects are easy. It also doesn’t mean we can be complacent that projects are always delivered on time and on budget, because that too has been disproved.”

NASA Emphasizes Early Mission Planning

Lessons NASA has learned from implementing flagship missions include the importance of defining a project’s mission architecture and requirements. Engineers must also understand the underlying technology before construction of flight hardware begins, Domagal-Goldman said.

“Simply put, you need to understand the challenge and have a mission where that challenge is incredibly well understood. And once you understand that, you put the pedal to the metal and get that observatory to the launch pad as quickly as possible,” he said.