NASA hits Boeing on quality control for rocket system | Space

(NewsNation) — A new report from NASA’s internal watchdog found serious quality control concerns at a Boeing factory working on a critical component for the Artemis program.

The report from NASA’s Office of the Inspector General centered around issues with Boeing’s work on the Block 1B version of the Space Launch System. The OIG found a lack of trained workers and raised concerns about quality control at Boeing’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.

Block 1B is critical for the Artemis program, which intended to return humans to the moon and support future efforts to send astronauts to Mars. NASA blamed Boeing for delays with the Artemis program, which has already been pushed back.

The report found 71 corrective action requests (CAR), 24 of which were classified as a “level 2,” a designation used for issues that can’t be immediately fixed or that involve critical safety hardware. That number is unusually high for a program in this stage of development.

Quality issues were caused in part by a lack of highly trained staff, according to the report, noting that the facility’s New Orleans location and lower-than-average pay made it difficult to recruit skilled workers. The OIG also noted management issues, including underestimating the complexity of the project and supply chain…

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