NASA watchdog hits Boeing on quality control problems with Space Launch System

NASA’s internal watchdog has released a new report finding serious lapses of quality control at a Boeing (NYSE:BA) factory working on the next version of the Space Launch System.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General said it discovered significant problems with Boeing’s (BA) work on the Block 1B version of SLS performed at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, including “ineffective quality management and inexperienced workforce, continued cost increases and schedule delays, and the delayed establishment of a cost and schedule baseline.”

NASA used the Defense Contract Management Agency to monitor Boeing’s (BA) work at Michoud, and said the company’s “process for addressing contractual noncompliance has been ineffective, and the company has generally been non-responsive in taking corrective actions when the same quality control issues reoccur.”

The report said it found 71 corrective action requests issued by DCMA from September 2021 to September 2023 related to the SLS work at Michoud, a total it said was unusually high for a spaceflight program at this stage in development.

The high number of quality problems was linked to a lack of a trained workforce, with Michoud officials saying it has been difficult to attract and retain a contractor workforce with aerospace experience in part due to Michoud’s location in New Orleans, as well as lower employee compensation relative to other aerospace competitors.

The report also criticized management of the Exploration Upper Stage that will replace the Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage used on the original Block 1 SLS; the EUS accounts for more than half of Block 1B’s $5.7B development cost, which is $700M more than the baseline set when the contract was awarded.