Boeing to lay off employees on SLS rocket project due to uncertainty over progress

On Thursday, top Boeing officials responsible for the Space Launch System program, including David Dutcher and Steve Snell, held an all-hands meeting for the more than 1,000 employees working on the rocket.

Officials announced significant layoffs and reassignments of staff working on the program, according to two people familiar with the matter. They cited a number of reasons for the cuts, including a rightward sliding schedule for NASA’s Artemis moon mission using the SLS rocket.

Late Thursday, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed the cuts to Ars in a statement provided to Ars: “Due to external factors unrelated to our program performance, Boeing is reviewing and adjusting current staffing levels on the Space Launch System program.

Better late than never?

For nearly fifteen years, Boeing has led the development of the core stage of the large SLS rocket, which NASA plans to use to launch the Orion spacecraft and carry out manned missions to the moon.

The contract has been lucrative for Boeing but has drawn considerable criticism for its generosity over the years as NASA has spent tens of billions of dollars developing rockets that reuse the space shuttle’s main engines and other components. Additionally, the rocket was supposed to debut in late 2016 or 2017, but it didn’t actually make its first flight until November 2022.

Yet when the SLS rocket debuted a year and a half ago, it performed exceptionally well at carrying the unmanned Orion spacecraft to the moon. Following that mission, NASA declared the rocket “operational” and Boeing began production of the rocket for future missions to send astronauts to the moon.

So, in a sense, these cuts are inevitable. Boeing requires significant resources to design, develop, test and program rocket software. Now that the development phase is over, the company will naturally scale back its core phase development activities.

Boeing’s statement didn’t say that, but sources told Ars the layoffs could ultimately reach hundreds of employees. They will be distributed primarily at the company’s rocket facilities in Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. The cuts will involve the core stage program as well as the Exploration Upper Stage program, a new upper stage program for the rocket that is also beginning to move from the development phase to the production phase.

Wait for other elements

When Boeing cited “external factors,” it was referring to delays in the timeline for NASA’s Artemis program. In January, space agency officials announced that the Artemis II crewed flyby mission would be delayed by about a year, to September 2025; Artemis III to September 2026 The moon landing project. If NASA sticks to its current mission plan, Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 could be further delayed.

While the SLS rocket will be ready as currently planned (barring disaster), other factors remain in question. As for Artemis 2, NASA still hasn’t solved the problem with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. The issue must be resolved before next year’s mission can be approved.

Artemis 3 faces even greater challenges. In order to complete this mission, NASA needs to have a lunar lander, and in addition to the lunar surface spacesuit provided by Axiom Space, SpaceX also needs a lunar lander from its Starship aircraft. Both elements are still in the development stage.

Additionally, NASA is dealing with budget challenges. The agency is facing budget cuts for the first time in more than a decade. This week, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told Congress, “As funding decreases, we have to make some very hard choices.” Among them may be seeking to use future SLS funding to support other parts of Artemis.

A person familiar with Boeing’s internal meeting on Thursday said the space agency had come to the company earlier this year and suggested that, in effect, Boeing would receive less funding as SLS development ends. The company has the option to “extend” the funding it receives or pause it for a year due to delays in the Artemis mission. Boeing’s choice to expand funding was a driving factor in this week’s funding cuts.

It’s easy, but unfair, to blame SpaceX and Axiom for delays in future Artemis missions. Congress created the SLS rocket through an authorization act back in 2010, but Boeing actually received funding for related work as early as 2007. Serves work until 2022.