Lori Glaze, head of NASA’s Human Space Flight Directorate, said in a written response to the report that the information in the memo supported NASA’s decision to cancel those programs earlier this year.
“NASA notes that the challenges summarized in the memorandum – cost overruns, schedule slippages, contractor performance issues and evolving mission requirements – underpin the decisions announced publicly on Launch Day to simplify the Artemis architecture, modernize procurement practices and align programs with the nation’s continued presence goals.”
That’s an expensive stage adapter you’re getting out there
The cheapest of the four contracts for the Universal Stage Adapter is perhaps the most telling. NASA awarded Dynetics a contract in June 2017 to design, test and build this spacecraft. Made primarily of composites, the adapter weighed 9,650 pounds (4.3 metric tons) and stood 33 feet (10 meters) tall.
The original contract awarded to Dynetics was $131 million, after which NASA added $9 million for the payload separation system. By the time the program was canceled earlier this year, the contract value had risen to $353 million, with the delivery date pushed back to September 2028. The inspector general’s report predicted the project would likely cost $497 million and be completed by May 2030.
To be clear: NASA would likely pay half a billion dollars for a relatively simple scene adaptor. It doesn’t have thrusters or anything like that on board. Also, for some inexplicable reason, its construction had to take 13 years.
Another interesting note from the report is that the inspector general did not believe the Lunar Gateway would be operational until at least 2032, based on the delays of the Lodging and Logistics Outpost. Ars reported last week that NASA officially asked Northrop Grumman will discontinue work on this module.
