The Office of the Inspector General of NASA (OIG) published a report yesterday (July 16) that analyzes the management of the agency’s Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle Program.
Among the findings, the OIG determined that Orion – The next-generation capsule that will take NASA astronauts to the moon and other deep-space destinations – has continued to experience cost increases and schedule delays.
Since the baseline cost and schedule were established in 2015, the program has experienced cost growth of more than $ 900 million through 2019, a figure expected to increase to at least $ 1.4 billion through 2023, the report concluded. .
Related: The Orion space capsule: NASA’s next spacecraft (photos)
Since 2006, NASA has been developing Orion to transport astronauts beyond low Earth orbit, with Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company as the primary contractor for the capsule. Orion’s short-term focus is the moon; NASA aims to land two astronauts near the lunar south pole in 2024, as part of its ambitious Artemis Program.
Orion has conducted three test flights to date, including one into Earth orbit, but none have had astronauts on board. The huge rocket that will launch Orion on his Artemis missions, the Space launch system, has yet to fly at all. Orion and SLS are slated to fly together for the first time in late 2021, on a test mission that will send an unmanned Orion around the moon.
The OIG report also found that NASA’s exclusion of more than $ 17 billion in Orion-related costs has hampered the overall transparency of the vehicle’s full costs. Both federal law and NASA policy require an estimate of the life cycle cost for all major space and science programs costing more than $ 250 million, and on which to base the “Agency Benchmark Commitment” at all formulation and development costs.
“The Orion Program received approval from NASA Associate Administrator to deviate from those requirements, resulting in the exclusion of $ 17.5 billion in Orion-related costs from FY 2006 to FY 2030 due to the custom approach from the agency for program management and cost reporting, “the report says.
“Although these exclusions have been approved, adapting these cost reporting requirements significantly limits the visibility of the total amount spent on development and production efforts,” he adds.
You can read the full report of the OIG here.
Leonard David is the author of “Moon Rush: The New Space Race,” which was published by National Geographic in May 2019. David, a longtime writer for Space.com, has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook. This version of the story posted on Space.com.
