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Boeing received 'unnecessary' contract boost for astronaut capsule, watchdog says
Source: Reuters
BUSINESS NEWS NOVEMBER 14, 2019 / 8:50 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Boeing received 'unnecessary' contract boost for astronaut capsule, watchdog says
Joey Roulette
3 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing’s multibillion dollar contract to build U.S. astronaut capsules received an “unnecessary” extension from NASA, a watchdog report said on Thursday, the latest management blunders in the agency’s program to restart domestic human spaceflight.
NASA agreed to pay Boeing Co (BA.N) a $287 million premium for “additional flexibilities” to accelerate production of the company’s Starliner crew vehicle and avoid an 18-month gap in flights to the International Space Station. NASA’s inspector general called it an “unreasonable” boost to Boeing’s fixed-priced $4.2 billion dollar contract.
Instead, the inspector general said the space agency could have saved $144 million by making “simple changes” to Starliner’s planned launch schedule, including buying additional seats from Russia’s space agency, which the United States has been reliant on since the 2011 retirement of its space shuttle program.
Boeing and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have received nearly $7 billion combined since 2014 from NASA to develop separate capsule systems designed to end U.S. reliance on Russia’s Soyuz rocket for astronaut flights to the International Space Station. The program has been set back years by testing mishaps at both providers.
NASA justified the additional funds to avoid a gap in space station operations. But SpaceX, the other provider, “was not provided an opportunity to propose a solution, even though the company previously offered shorter production lead times than Boeing,” the report said.
-snip-
Boeing received 'unnecessary' contract boost for astronaut capsule, watchdog says
Joey Roulette
3 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing’s multibillion dollar contract to build U.S. astronaut capsules received an “unnecessary” extension from NASA, a watchdog report said on Thursday, the latest management blunders in the agency’s program to restart domestic human spaceflight.
NASA agreed to pay Boeing Co (BA.N) a $287 million premium for “additional flexibilities” to accelerate production of the company’s Starliner crew vehicle and avoid an 18-month gap in flights to the International Space Station. NASA’s inspector general called it an “unreasonable” boost to Boeing’s fixed-priced $4.2 billion dollar contract.
Instead, the inspector general said the space agency could have saved $144 million by making “simple changes” to Starliner’s planned launch schedule, including buying additional seats from Russia’s space agency, which the United States has been reliant on since the 2011 retirement of its space shuttle program.
Boeing and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have received nearly $7 billion combined since 2014 from NASA to develop separate capsule systems designed to end U.S. reliance on Russia’s Soyuz rocket for astronaut flights to the International Space Station. The program has been set back years by testing mishaps at both providers.
NASA justified the additional funds to avoid a gap in space station operations. But SpaceX, the other provider, “was not provided an opportunity to propose a solution, even though the company previously offered shorter production lead times than Boeing,” the report said.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-boeing/boeing-received-unnecessary-contract-boost-for-astronaut-capsule-watchdog-says-idUSKBN1XP05A