The Inspector General of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a report on a Boeing rocket development project that has been delayed for years.
The Atlas V booster carrying the Starliner spacecraft leaves the launch pad at the space station in Florida, USA on May 19, 2022. Photo: AFP/VNA
According to RT TV channel, after inspecting the rocket development division of the Boeing Corporation, NASA’s Inspector General concluded that the low-generation booster According to Boeing, known as Block 1B, it has been years behind schedule, exceeding its projected budget and due to technical n lack of manufacturing experience.
Developed in 2014, NASA’s Space Launch System Block 1B was originally scheduled to launch as part of the Artemis II mission to the Moon next year. However, the launch of this rocket has been pushed back for the Artemis IV mission to land on the Moon in 2028. In an announcement on August 8, NASA’s Office of the Inspector General warned that the new launch could be delayed again.
Also in the report, NASA’s Office of the Inspector General concluded that Boeing was partly responsible for the delay.
NASA inspectors inspected Boeing’s Michoud assembly facility in Louisiana and found obvious quality deficiencies. The number of requests to fix deficiencies is up to 71 times, and they note that this is a high number for the development of a space rocket system at this stage.
These shortcomings are largely due to Boeing’s lack of trained and experienced aerospace technicians. The Office of the Inspector General found that Boèing’s inexperienced technicians could not weld a fuel tank according to NASA standards. These sloppy welding joints directly led to delays in the development of the rocket’s upper stage.
“Boeing’s process for addressing shortcomings has so far been ineffective and the company has generally been unresponsive in taking when similar quality control problems recur,” the report stated.
Initially, Boeing pledged to deliver the upper stage of the rocket in February 2021 and now confirms that it will be completed by April 2027. The cost of producing the rocket’s upper stage has also skyrocketed, with NASA estimates indicating they will lose $2.8 billion by 2028. double the 2017 estimate of $962 million given by Boeing.
The Office of the Inspector General recommended that Boeing should be fined for failing to comply with quality control standards. However, NASA Deputy Chief Executive Catherine Koerner announced on August 8 that the company will not be fined.
Boeing was once again in the spotlight 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 they have now been in space for more than 65 days and a return date is unknown. On August 7, NASA announced that the two astronauts could be stranded in space until February 2025, when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to carry new astronauts on boardand welcome them back.