The Green Bank Telescope (GBT), located in West Virginia and operated by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), is the world's largest fully steerable, clear aperture telescope and the newest facility in the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's suite of astronomical instruments.

The contract to design and construct the GBT had an agreed fixed price of $55 million, with work to begin on December 19, 1990, and to be completed by the end of 1994. The contract terms required the telescope to be designed and built to performance specifications, placing most of the performance risks associated with the project on the contractor, COMSAT Corporation. The telescope was accepted from the contractor on October 13, 2000, nearly six years later than the original contract delivery date. During the entire period of contract work, the only agreed change in scope was a single change order for $150,000, executed in August of 1993.

In 1998, COMSAT sought an additional payment of approximately $29 million above the contracted amount, alleging that AUI had forced it to conduct unnecessary work on the telescope design and to build the telescope to an unreasonable life cycle specification. AUI maintained that the COMSAT claim was without merit and filed its own claim against COMSAT, in the amount of approximately $13 million.

Draper & Associates was engaged by AUI to perform a schedule and delay analysis for this project. After negotiation between the parties failed, COMSAT called for an arbitration by the American Arbitration Association (AAA), as the contract specified. After a lengthy period of discovery, a formal hearing during which a Draper & Associates Consultant testified, and study of the record, the arbitrator issued his decision citing Draper & Associates' schedule analysis as the basis of the award.