Audit calls NASA’s goal to reduce Artemis rocket costs threat to deep space exploration

ORLANDO, Fla. — NASA’s goal to reduce the costs of the powerful Space Launch System rocket for its Artemis program by 50% was called “highly unrealistic” and a threat to its deep space exploration plans, according to a report by NASA’s Office of the Inspector General released on Thursday. The audit says the costs to produce one SLS rocket through its proposed fixed-cost contract will still top $2.5 billion, even though NASA thinks it can shrink that through “workforce reductions, manufacturing and contracting efficiencies, and expanding the SLS’s user base.” “Given the enormous costs of the Ar...