NASA’s plan to build a new upper stage for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is seven years behind schedule and facing a significant budget overrun, a new report from the US space agency’s inspector general shows. Regardless of these numbers, the report also reveals some very important information about NASA’s main rocket contractor, Boeing, and its poor quality control practices.
The new stage in question is called “Exploration Upper Stage” and is supposed to be used as a more powerful second stage for the SLS rocket. The rocket, which was launched for the first time in late 2022, is a key part of Artemis, the moon return program. NASA currently plans to use the new upper stage for the second lunar landing, the Artemis 4 mission, scheduled for 2028. The upgraded version of the Space Launch System with this new stage is called Block 1B.
Boeing’s quality control problems are largely due to the insufficient experience of the company’s manpower in the aerospace sector
However, it is unlikely that NASA will be able to launch Artemis 4 on that date for several reasons, including the lack of readiness of the lunar rovers, the hardware needed to build the Gateway Lunar Station and the new mobile launch tower, among others. Now, based on information from the new Inspector General report, we can probably expect the SLS upper stage to be added to the list of unready hardware.
The new report states: “We found a series of issues that could prevent a more powerful version of the Space Launch System from being ready for the Artemis 4 mission; including Boeing’s inadequate quality management system, cost overruns and delays, and poor visibility into projected costs for Block 1B.”
Quality control, the new concern
There are surprising details in the report about Boeing’s quality control practices at the Mashwood assembly facility in southern Louisiana, where the new upper stage is being built. US federal regulators have issued a significant number of “corrective action requests” to Boeing.
According to NASA mission assurance and safety officials and Defense Contract Management Agency officials at Mashwood, Boeing’s quality control problems are largely due to the company’s lack of experience in aerospace manpower. “The lack of a trained and qualified workforce increases the risk that the contractor will continue to manufacture parts that do not meet NASA requirements and industry standards.”
