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[Global Network Report] According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), on August 8 local time, NASA (NASAThe Office of the Inspector General of the United States issued a report criticizing Boeing for problems in quality control and other aspects of NASA's moon landing project. The report said that the report reflects the latest setback for NASA's plan to return to the moon.

Boeing logo file picture

NASA is advancing its Artemis manned lunar mission, but the project is facing many obstacles. Boeing is reportedly responsible for the manufacturing of the SLS Block 1B heavy rocket upper stage, which was originally planned to be used for the Artemis 2 mission. The latest report from NASA's Office of the Inspector General pointed out that Boeing's quality control system did not meet NASA's requirements and some known defects were not resolved. In addition, overall, the workers on the project lacked experience and did not receive adequate training.

NBC reported that a report from NASA's Office of Inspector General stated that Boeing's rocket upper stage manufacturing work was significantly overspent. The project exceeded its initial budget ($962 million) in 2017 and is expected to cost $2.8 billion by 2025. The completion time of the project has also been delayed, with Boeing postponing the delivery time from February 2021 to April 2027.

As for Boeing's quality control, NASA's inspector general said that from 2021 to 2023, U.S. government inspectors issued 71 "corrective requests" to address "quality deficiencies." The report also said that many of the defects found were ultimately not resolved. "To date, Boeing's procedures for resolving deficiencies have not worked, and the company has generally been slow to take corrective action when the same quality control issues reappear." The report made several recommendations, including "imposing financial penalties on Boeing for non-compliance with quality control standards."

NBC said that Boeing had been in trouble due to problems with the "Starliner" spacecraft. The company's first manned test flight of the "Starliner" spacecraft took off on June 5 with American astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunny Williams, and arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. The spacecraft was originally scheduled to leave the space station and return to Earth on June 14, but due to problems such as thruster failure and helium leakage, the return time has been repeatedly postponed, and the problem has not been resolved yet. In addition, in the commercial aviation sector, the recent exposure of quality problems of Boeing passenger aircraft has also caused the company to be questioned by many parties.

The report also said that the report reflects the latest setback for NASA's plan to return to the moon, which has been plagued by multiple obstacles and budget overruns. NASA's inspector general said that NASA originally planned to use the SLS Block 1B, an upgraded version of the SLS Block 1 rocket, to send astronauts to the moon for the Artemis 2 mission, but due to delays, the plan was changed and the SLS Block 1B has been scheduled for the Artemis 4 mission.

In January this year, NASA announced that the Artemis 2 manned lunar mission will be postponed from the end of 2024 to no earlier than September 2025, and the manned lunar landing mission Artemis 3 will be postponed from the end of 2025 to September 2026.