An internal audit conducted by NASA’s Office of Inspector General’s Office of Audits found major problems with the aerospace agency’s Space Launch System (SLS), a program that is working on a rocket that could return NASA astronauts to the moon and eventually go to Mars.
The audit report, published this week, details mismanagement and poor oversight at the program leading to long delays, cost overruns, and wasted funds. The audit report even calls into question the long-term viability of the program. The report was also highly critical of aerospace company Boeing, a major supplier and partner in the SLS program.
The audit identified several root causes for delays and cost overruns. The program, which launched in 2010, is at least two and a half years behind schedule and, according to the OIG report, will likely slip further behind. It is also well over budget. The audit projects Boeing will expend $8.9 billion by 2021, which is double the amount that was originally budgeted and contracted to the company.
“Our audit work determined that the cost increases and schedule delays can be traced largely to management, technical, and infrastructure issues driven by Boeing’s poor performance,” Ridge Bowman, a director within NASA OIG, said in a video about the audit.
The report also took issue with NASA’s poor oversight of the program. “We also fault NASA for several poor contract management practices that we found contributed to SLS program cost and schedule overruns,” Bowman said.
Audit Findings
Among the problems identified by the OIG are:
- Boeing officials have consistently underestimated the scope of the work to be performed and thus the size and skills of the workforce required to perform specialized work.
- Boeing has been unable to consistently provide NASA realistic cost and schedule estimates for completing the two Core Stages and EUS.
- NASA lacks visibility into the Boeing Stages contract costs because all three of the company’s key activities—development of the two Core Stages and the EUS—are co-mingled into the same contract line item number.
- Despite significant cost increases and schedule delays, as of September 2017 NASA had rated Boeing’s performance as “excellent” in three periods and “very good” in three others and awarded it $323 million or 90 percent of the available award and incentive fees.
Corrective Action Needed
The report also included several recommendations to help put the program back on track, including increased oversight of Boeing’s activities, a review of all contracts, and the development of a corrective action plan. In responses to the report, NASA and Boeing executives largely agreed with the recommendations and vowed to take corrective action.
Building the SLS is an enormous undertaking, with more than 1,100 contractors in 43 states working on aspects of the rocket. When completed, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built and will stand 36-stories tall on the specially modified launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.
Yet the IOG report calls into question whether the program will ever be completed in a timely manner and affordable manner. The report states: “Unless senior officials at NASA and Boeing are involved and collectively agree to the solutions, launch dates will continue to slip and the costs will increase, raising questions about the Program’s long-term sustainability.” 