The U.S. Senate passed a defense authorization bill Dec. 1 that would subject the Pentagon's primary satellite launching program, including plans to buy rockets in bulk starting next year, to much tougher scrutiny.An amendment to the Defense Authorization Act for 2012 that was approved prior to the bill's passage on the Senate floor directs the Air Force to spell out its compliance with a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that called the service's rocket acquisition strategy into question. To the extent that the Air Force does not intend to comply with the recommendations in the report, it must specify its rationale in its 2013 budget request, to be submitted to Congress in February.
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