![]() "This is utterly indefensible and is totally on NASA regardless of how contractors screwed up," the blog NASA Watch piled on. The SLS project has already become immensely unpopular among some lawmakers. Shortly before launch, the tower is designed to releases each of its "umbilicals" and allow the rocket to launch safely from the pad at Kennedy's Space Center.īut the impending sticker shock this week may throw a wet blanket over the agency's plans. The 380-foot tower acts as a tether, allowing ground crews to fuel and communicate with the rocket. ![]() "NASA expects the Inspector General's report on spiraling costs for its second mobile launch tower (for the SLS rocket) to come out this week," Ars Technica's Eric Berger tweeted. NASA constructed a massive mobile launch tower meant to facilitate the launch of the SLS rocket and its Orion spacecraft, for instance, which cost a pretty penny.Īnd now, observers are starting to warn that an oversight report could deal a searing rebuke to the space agency's costly efforts. Meanwhile, the bills are continuing to stack up. During wet dress rehearsals in April, the agency's Artemis I rocket, meant to launch the first uncrewed mission around the Moon later this year, encountered valve issues so serious that they forced NASA to push the tests back to this month. In the face of all that, NASA has yet to launch the SLS, or even successfully complete a full gamut of tests. The agency's development of its Space Launch System (SLS) has been mired in budget overruns and many years of delays, costing tens of billions of dollars over the last eleven years. ![]() NASA's plans to return astronauts to the Moon are well on their way - but the cost of the endeavor is soaring. ![]()
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