NASA’s inspector general predicts continued cost growth for SLS mobile launch platform
NASA Space Technology WASHINGTON — A contract to build a second mobile launch platform for the Space Launch System could end up costing NASA more than six times its original value, a report by the agency’s inspector general concluded.The Aug. 27 report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that NASA could end up spending $2.5 billion on a contract with Bechtel to design and build Mobile Launcher 2 (ML-2), the launch platform that will be used by the larger Block 1B version of SLS, and may not be ready to support a launch until 2029.NASA awarded Bechtel the contract for ML-2 in August 2019 valued at $383 million, with the platform scheduled for delivery to NASA by March 2023. However, costs have grown significantly while schedules slipped. A previous OIG audit of the...