EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: NASA’s Next Rocket Launcher Project Is Going Off the Rails.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a scathing report on the space agency’s second mobile launcher (ML-2) for its Moon rocket, which could cost $2.2 billion more than originally estimated.

The report, issued this week, revealed the results of an audit of the ongoing development of the mobile launcher, which will be used to assemble, transport, and launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. OIG found significant cost overruns and schedule delays, with the mobile launcher potentially costing six times more than its initial value.

In 2019, NASA awarded a $383 million contract to Bechtel to design and build a second mobile launcher that will be used to transport the SLS rocket to its launchpad for the upcoming Artemis 4 mission, scheduled for launch in September 2028. At the time, Bechtel was supposed to deliver the launcher by March 2023. By 2022, the contract value had increased to more than $1 billion and its delivery date had been delayed to May 2026.

Despite the initial cost projections, the OIG report estimates that the mobile launcher could end up costing $2.7 billion and that it would not be ready to support the SLS launch until September 2029.

$2.7 billion and years late for a launch tower? Heads should roll — but won’t.