NASA is trying to build the world’s most powerful rocket, called the Space Launch System, or SLS.
The rocket program’s goal: send American astronauts back to the moon for the first time in nearly 50 years, then send people to Mars later on.
However, a new 44-page audit of the SLS program doesn’t bode well for the program.
The report, published Wednesday by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), digs into some of the causes behind 2.5 years of delays and several billion dollars of projected cost overruns for the $12.2 billion SLS program.
The report even calls into question the sustainability of the entire project.
Auditors put much of the blame for high costs and delays on Boeing, one of the prime SLS contractors. The company is responsible for about 56% of the new rocket’s cost, but is years behind-schedule in delivering the biggest section of the rocket.
“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.
But the report also slammed NASA for its weak oversight.
“We also…
