sanfel/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
NASA’s internal oversight body has released a new report. a report Serious quality control flaws found on Boeing aircraftNYSE:BAThe factory is working on the next version of the space launch system.
NASA’s Office of Inspector General said: Discover big problems With Boeing (BA)) Work on the Block 1B version of SLS conducted at the Michoud Assembly facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, included “ineffective quality management, an inexperienced workforce, continued cost increases and schedule delays, and delays in establishing a cost and schedule baseline.”
NASA used the Defense Contract Management Agency to monitor Boeing’s work at Michoud, and said that “the company’s process for addressing contractual noncompliance was ineffective, and the company was generally unresponsive in taking corrective action when the same quality control issues recurred.”
The report said it found 71 corrective action requests issued by the DSA between September 2021 and September 2023 regarding the Space Launch System (SLS) at Michoud, a total it said was unusually high for a spaceflight program at this stage of development.
The high number of quality problems was linked to a shortage of trained workers, with Michaud officials saying it was difficult to attract and retain a workforce of contractors with aerospace experience in part because of Michaud’s location in New Orleans, as well as relatively low employee compensation compared to other aerospace competitors.
The report also criticized the management of the Exploration Upper Stage, which will replace the interim Exploration Upper Stage used in the original Space Launch System in Block 1; the Exploration Upper Stage represents more than half of the $5.7 billion development cost of Block 1B, which is $700 million more than the baseline set when the contract was awarded.