GAO Report – NASA Admits SLS Unaffordable

Senior NASA officers consider the Area Launch System (SLS) is unaffordable at present price ranges, making the company’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon unsustainable if nothing adjustments, in line with a brand new report from the Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO).

Within the September 7 report, Space Launch System, Cost Transparency Needed to Monitor Program Affordability, GAO discovered that NASA is taking a look at each short-term and long-term choices to cut back the price of manufacturing and working the rocket, which is anticipated to function the first launch car for NASA’s lunar Artemis missions. The report was offered to Congressional committees that oversee NASA.

“This system’s short-term methods are to: (1) stabilize the flight schedule, (2) obtain studying curve efficiencies, (3) encourage innovation, and (4) modify acquisition methods to cut back price danger,” the report mentioned. “NASA, nonetheless, has not but recognized particular program-level cost-saving objectives which it hopes to attain. NASA has made some progress towards implementing these methods, however it’s too early to completely consider their impact on price.”

However, on the similar time, the report famous, NASA has no plans to find out what it’s costing the area company to supply SLS.

“NASA doesn’t plan to measure manufacturing prices to observe the affordability of the SLS program. After SLS’s first launch, Artemis I in November 2022, NASA plans to spend billions of {dollars} to proceed producing a number of SLS parts, reminiscent of core levels and rocket engines, wanted for future Artemis missions. These ongoing manufacturing prices to help the SLS program for Artemis missions should not captured in a price baseline, which limits transparency and efforts to observe this system’s long-term affordability,” the GAO mentioned.

Within the new report, the authorities watchdog company reiterated suggestions it made to NASA 9 years in the past.

“In 2014, GAO really useful that NASA develop a price baseline that captures manufacturing prices for the missions past Artemis I that fly SLS Block I. NASA intends to fly SLS Block I for Artemis II, deliberate for 2024, and Artemis III, deliberate for 2025. NASA partially concurred, however has not but carried out this suggestion,” the report mentioned.

“We additionally really useful that NASA set up separate price and schedule baselines for every further functionality that embody all prices, together with manufacturing prices, as a result of NASA intends to make use of the elevated capabilities of the SLS properly into the long run and has chosen to estimate prices related to reaching the capabilities,” the doc added.

The abstract part of the report is reproduced under.

Area Launch System: Price Transparency Wanted to Monitor Program Affordability
Report back to Congressional Committees
Authorities Accountability Workplace
GAO-23-105609
September 2023

GAO Highlights

Why GAO Did This Examine

The SLS is the world’s strongest rocket and can allow NASA to return people to the moon. NASA requested $11.2 billion within the fiscal 12 months 2024 president’s finances request to fund this system by way of fiscal 12 months 2028, along with the $11.8 billion spent creating the preliminary functionality. In November 2022, NASA efficiently demonstrated SLS Block 1 throughout its Artemis I flight check. NASA intends to fly a collection of more and more tough missions, together with Artemis II—a crewed check flight—and Artemis III—a crewed lunar touchdown.

GAO’s April 2023 high-risk report famous that NASA wanted to enhance transparency into the long-term prices and affordability of human spaceflight packages, together with by establishing price and schedule baselines for extra SLS capabilities.

A Home report back to an appropriations invoice included a provision for GAO to overview NASA’s human exploration packages, together with the SLS program. GAO assessed the extent to which (1) NASA has established plans to measure the SLS program prices post-Artemis I, and (2) this system has made progress with its plans to cut back projected SLS prices. GAO reviewed NASA paperwork and plans and interviewed company officers.

What GAO Discovered

The Nationwide Aeronautics and Area Administration (NASA) doesn’t plan to measure manufacturing prices to observe the affordability of its strongest rocket, the Area Launch System (SLS). After SLS’s first launch, Artemis I in November 2022, NASA plans to spend billions of {dollars} to proceed producing a number of SLS parts, reminiscent of core levels and rocket engines, wanted for future Artemis missions. This system can also be concurrently producing {hardware} for extra succesful variations of the SLS, the Block 1B and Block 2, to be used on later missions.

As a result of the unique SLS model’s price and schedule commitments, or baselines, had been tied to the launch of Artemis I, ongoing manufacturing and different prices wanted to maintain this system going ahead should not monitored. As a substitute, NASA created a rolling 5-year estimate of manufacturing and operations prices to make sure that the prices match inside NASA’s total finances. Nonetheless, neither the estimate nor the annual finances request observe prices by Artemis mission or for recurring manufacturing objects. Consequently, the 5-year estimate and the finances requests are poor measures of price efficiency over time. In 2014, GAO really useful that NASA develop a price baseline that captures manufacturing prices for the missions past Artemis I that fly SLS Block I. NASA intends to fly SLS Block I for Artemis II, deliberate for 2024, and Artemis III, deliberate for 2025. NASA partially concurred, however has not but carried out this suggestion. A value baseline would improve the transparency of ongoing prices related to SLS manufacturing and supply needed insights to observe program affordability.

Senior NASA officers instructed GAO that at present price ranges, the SLS program is unaffordable. The SLS program developed a roadmap outlining short-term and long-term cost-saving methods for future missions. For instance, NASA plans to make use of contract sorts that shift price danger from the federal government to the contractors and that obtain manufacturing efficiencies, however it’s too early to find out the results of such methods. NASA can also be contemplating long-term choices, together with buying future SLS launches and payload capabilities from a contractor who would personal, function, and combine the SLS rocket.

What GAO Recommends

GAO has made three previous suggestions on this space—two of which GAO considers precedence
suggestions. GAO maintains that implementing these suggestions would supply needed perception to enhance program affordability.