NASA hits Boeing on quality control for rocket system
- The agency found a lack of skilled workers led to issues at the factory
- Boeing is already facing troubles with its Starliner capsule and planes
- NASA did not impose financial penalties on the company
FILE – The logo for Boeing appears on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 13, 2021. Federal officials said on Thursday, June 13, 2024, they are investigating an unusual rolling motion on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max that might have been caused by a damaged backup power-control unit. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
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(NewsNation) — A new report from NASA’s internal watchdog found serious quality control concerns at a Boeing factory working on a critical component for the Artemis program.
The report from NASA’s Office of the Inspector General centered around issues with Boeing’s work on the Block 1B version of the Space Launch System. The OIG found a lack of trained workers and raised concerns about quality control at Boeing’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.
Block 1B is critical for the Artemis program, which intended to return humans to the moon and support future efforts to send astronauts to Mars. NASA blamed Boeing for delays with the Artemis program, which has already been pushed back.
The report found 71 corrective action requests (CAR), 24 of which were classified as a “level 2,” a designation used for issues that can’t be immediately fixed or that involve critical safety hardware. That number is unusually high for a program in this stage of development.
Quality issues were caused in part by a lack of highly trained staff, according to the report, noting that the facility’s New Orleans location and lower-than-average pay made it difficult to recruit skilled workers. The OIG also noted management issues, including underestimating the complexity of the project and supply chain issues caused by negotiations and late contracts.
NASA has also faced rising costs from Boeing. The project is projected to cost $5.7 billion, which is $700 million more than the baseline set when the contract was awarded.
A specific component of the Block 1B SLS, the Exploration Upper Stage, was also called out in the report. The EUS had a $962 million budget and was originally slated to be used on Artemis II. That mission has been postponed to at least September 2025, and the cost for the EUS is expected to grow $2 billion through 2025 and reach $2.8 billion by 2028, the date set for the Artemis IV mission.
The delivery of the system is also expected to be delayed six years, which will likely mean pushing back Artemis IV.
A software tool Boeing has been using to measure progress was also under scrutiny, as it has been disapproved for use since 2020 by the Defense Department due to deficiencies in the program. The OIG noted that would make it impossible for Boeing to produce “a realistic baseline delivery date” for the EUS.
While the agency did offer recommendations for Boeing to improve, it did not impose financial penalties.
