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13 years and $500 million for a stage adapter? Report justifies NASA cancellations.
Ars Technica • • science
Key Points:
- NASA has shifted its focus from building a lunar orbit space station to establishing a base on the Moon's surface, canceling several Artemis Program components including the Exploration Upper Stage and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost.
- These canceled projects experienced significant cost overruns and delays, with combined contract values increasing from $2.8 billion to $5.9 billion and delivery dates extended by up to seven years.
- The Universal Stage Adapter contract with Dynetics exemplifies the issues, ballooning from an initial $131 million to a projected $497 million, with completion delayed from 2021 to 2030 for a relatively simple piece of hardware.
- NASA officials justified the cancellations by emphasizing the need to streamline the Artemis architecture, reduce wasted spending, and focus on achievable goals aligned with sustained lunar presence.
- The Lunar Gateway, reliant on delayed modules like the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, is not expected to be operational before 2032, leading NASA to halt work on some components such as the Northrop Grumman-built module.
