There is a new report on SLS rocket management, and it's pretty brutal

Boeing built the main stage of NASA's Space Launch System rocket for most of the decade, and the process did not always proceed smoothly, with significant timeouts. and multi-year delays. A new report from NASA's Inspector General shows just how bad the development process has gone, blaming Boeing primarily.

"We found that the poor performance of Boeing is the main reason for the sharp increase in costs and developmental delays in the development of the SLS core phase," says the report, signed by NASA's Inspector General , Paul Martin. "Specifically, the project's cost and schedule issues stem primarily from management, technical, and infrastructure issues directly related to Boeing's performance."

According to the report, in August 2018, NASA had spent $ 11.9 billion on the SLS. Even in this case, the heart of the rocket will be delivered more than three years later than expected, at a cost twice as high. Overall, this report contains a number of conclusions that cast a mostly negative light on Boeing and, to a lesser extent, on NASA and its most expensive spaceflight project.

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The report states that NASA will have to spend an additional $ 1.2 billion, in addition to its current $ 6.2 billion contract for the main phases of the first two SLS rockets, to reach its initial launch date in June 2020. NASA originally planned to launch the SLS. rocket during its inaugural flight in November 2017.

However, considering all the development problems encountered by the SLS rocket, the report also does not believe that a date in mid-2020 is feasible. "Given the delays in developing the project, we concluded that NASA would not be able to complete its currently scheduled EM-1 launch window between December 2019 and June 2020," the report says.

This new report also contains other disturbing indications regarding the timetable. One concerns the Stennis Space Center facility in southern Mississippi, where NASA will conduct a "focus" test of the main SLS rocket stadium. This is a critical test that will involve a large-scale firing of the main stage of the rocket – four main engines with hydrogen tanks and oxygen liquids – for a simulated launch and an ascent in space.

The report revealed that Boeing's development of hardware and software for "command and control" required to complete this test is already 18 months behind the schedule set in 2016. This means that the installation Stennis will not be ready to host a "green" management test until May 2019, with other possible delays.

This is essential because often the most serious engineering problems are discovered during the integration and testing phase of the key components of the rocket. The delay in the "green" performance tests means that any problems that arise during this development phase will only push the launch of the SLS for the first time further into the future.

Reasons why

The report contains a rather remarkable section that explains the reasons for these delays. Boeing of course told the Inspector General that the initial delays in developing the SLS were due to "insufficient funding". In particular, Boeing indicated that the SLS contract was underfunded for 2015 and that it could not maintain its delivery schedule for the first two milestones.

The Inspector General, however, did not seem to have any. "By the end of fiscal 2015, the company had received $ 706 million, or only $ 53 million less than it had been asked for for its work to build two essential steps," the report said. "Additionally, due to a" supplement "from Congress the following year, Boeing received approximately $ 200 million more than NASA's estimate to meet the initial launch schedule of 2017. In May 2016, NASA added an additional contract worth almost $ 1 billion – bringing the total value of the contract to $ 5.2 billion – with only minimal changes in scope of work. "

NASA officials told the Inspector General that they did not think that the delay in the timetable could be explained by insufficient funding.

In response to a question from Ars, Boeing issued the following statement: "An unprecedented rocket program presents inherent challenges, developing the first unit of a system capable of transporting human beings into the world. space safely, even more.But the program described in the BIG report does not represent the Space Launch System program today. "

Implications of this

The report also states that NASA incorrectly awarded tens of millions of dollars to Boeing for a performance fee that the company did not earn. "We are questioning nearly $ 64 million in Boeing award fees since 2012 for the very good and excellent performance ratings obtained while the SLS program experienced substantial cost increases, technical problems and delays in calendar, "says the report.

In his response to the new report, NASA manned theft chief Bill Gerstenmaier essentially dismissed critics as saying that building large rockets was hard work.

"The SLS is the largest launch system in the history of spaceflight," says Gerstenmaier's answer. "The design, development, manufacturing, testing and operations of the system are extremely complex and represent a national investment in a long-term commitment to deep space exploration."

This can be true. But that seems like an increasingly difficult sale after SpaceX has developed the not too big or complex Falcon Heavy rocket for $ 500 million. We do not know what will happen next. In the past, Congress has largely ignored critics of the SLS rocket, even from official sources. After all, the vehicle has 1,100 contractors in 43 states, covering many legislative districts.

However, some critics close to the White House have murmured concerns and criticisms about the expensive big rocket to Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the National Space Council. To be clear, the Vice President has publicly supported the SLS rocket to date. But this report will at least feed the critics he hears.