A case of substandard welding has delayed production by seven months, according to the agency’s inspector general.
NASA’s inspector general has released a critical report on Boeing’s rocket division, stating that the aerospace giant’s next-generation spacecraft is significantly behind schedule, over budget, and built by “inexperienced technicians” under ineffective management.
Originally planned for launch in 2024 as part of the agency’s Artemis II lunar flyby mission, the Block 1B variant of NASA’s Space Launch System, in development since 2014, has been pushed back to the 2028 Artemis IV moon landing mission. The NASA Office of Inspector General has warned that this launch could be further delayed.
Boeing, contracted in 2014 to build the rocket’s powerful upper section, is partially responsible for this delay, according to the inspector general’s report.
Inspectors from NASA visiting Boeing’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana discovered significant “deficiencies in quality,” the report states. Inspectors issued 71 Corrective Action Requests to address these deficiencies, which they noted was “a high number…for a space flight system at this stage in development.”
These deficiencies “are largely due to the lack of a sufficient number of trained and experienced aerospace workers at Boeing,” the report continues, citing one example where the company’s “inexperienced technicians” were unable to weld a fuel tank to NASA standards. This poor welding directly led to a seven-month delay in the development of the rocket’s upper stage.
“Boeing’s process to address deficiencies to date has been ineffective, and the company has generally been nonresponsive in taking corrective actions when the same quality control issues reoccur,” the report declared.
Boeing initially promised to deliver the upper stage by February 2021 and now claims it will be ready by April 2027. Costs have escalated, with NASA estimating that the stage will cost $2.8 billion by 2028, more than double Boeing’s 2017 estimate of $962 million.
The inspector general’s office recommended that Boeing be fined for its “noncompliance with quality control standards.” However, NASA’s deputy associate administrator, Catherine Koerner, announced on Thursday that the company would not be penalized.
Following a door panel blowing off one of its 737 MAX 9 planes in mid-air in January, Boeing was again in the headlines in June when its Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned, leaving two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts were originally scheduled to stay on the ISS for a week, but NASA announced on Wednesday that they could remain in space until 2025 when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is scheduled to deliver a new crew.