NASA’s Next Rocket Launcher Project Is Going Off the Rails

NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a scathing report on the space agency’s second mobile launcher (ML-2) for its Moon rocket, which could cost $2.2 billion more than originally estimated.

The report, issued this week, revealed the results of an audit of the ongoing development of the mobile launcher, which will be used to assemble, transport, and launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. OIG found significant cost overruns and schedule delays, with the mobile launcher potentially costing six times more than its initial value.

In 2019, NASA awarded a $383 million contract to Bechtel to design and build a second mobile launcher that will be used to transport the SLS rocket to its launchpad for the upcoming Artemis 4 mission, scheduled for launch in September 2028. At the time, Bechtel was supposed to deliver the launcher by March 2023. By 2022, the contract value had increased to more than $1 billion and its delivery date had been delayed to May 2026.

Despite the initial cost projections, the OIG report estimates that the mobile launcher could end up costing $2.7 billion and that it would not be ready to support the SLS launch until September 2029. The OIG’s projections are based on the cost overruns that have taken place over the past three years, and the amount of construction that still remains before the mobile launcher is ready.

“Cost and schedule estimates from NASA and Bechtel have changed several times and increased significantly over time, making it difficult for NASA to identify its funding needs, be accountable to Congress and other stakeholders, and accurately measure project and contractor performance,” the report read. “The Agency’s history of increasing the ML-2’s cost estimate over time also contributes to our assessment that costs will be higher than what the Agency currently projects in its [Agency Baseline Commitment].”

NASA officials disagreed with OIG’s analysis, and believe that the cost growth of ML-2 will decrease over time, according to the report. “While progress has been made with the beginning of construction of the ML-2, it is still too early to determine the impact on the contract’s continued cost growth and whether Bechtel can achieve and sustain an improved level of performance throughout the construction phase,” OIG wrote.

NASA’s plans to return to the Moon have been marred by cost overruns and delays. The space agency has already faced criticism for the escalating expenses of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which Mobile Launcher 1 (ML-1) transports from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A report released in May 2023 found that NASA’s overall investment in its Artemis Moon program is projected to reach $93 billion from 2012 through 2025, of which the costs of SLS alone represent $23.8 billion spent through 2022. That’s $6 billion more than initial estimates for the Moon rocket.

The space agency has been exploring ways to reduce the cost of SLS by considering a launch service model for its operation. The service contract would allow NASA to purchase future launches and payload capabilities from a contractor who would own, operate, and integrate the rocket.

SLS launched on November 16, 2022 for the Artemis 1 mission, sending an uncrewed Orion capsule to the Moon. The 5.75-million-pound rocket is scheduled to carry its first crewed mission in September 2025, launching the Artemis 2 mission on a 10 day journey to the Moon and back. So far, NASA’s SLS rocket has been a budgeting nightmare, and the space agency is just getting started on its ambitious lunar program that aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

More: After Spending Billions of Dollars on SLS, NASA Admits Its Moon Rocket Is ‘Unaffordable’