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October 17th, 2024
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal watchdog organization, has issued another look at the NASA Artemis, back to the Moon, program.
This GAO report – “Exploration Ground Systems Program Could Strengthen Schedule Decisions” – found that the program has made progress, but the Artemis schedule poses challenges.
Schedule driver
The Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program develops and operates the systems and facilities necessary to integrate and launch rockets and spacecraft and then recover crew for the Artemis missions.
“NASA is planning to spend billions of dollars on the Artemis missions. This includes over $3 billion specifically for EGS from fiscal years 2024 through 2028,” the GAO report notes. “The EGS program was a key contributor during the launch of Artemis I in November 2022.”
The program will support crewed Artemis launches in upcoming years. Since Artemis I, EGS continues to improve facilities and develop capabilities for future Artemis missions, such as the EGS’s Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) which is the primary schedule driver for Artemis IV.
Much work remains
Artemis II and III launches (planned for September 2025 and 2026, respectively): EGS is making progress refurbishing the Mobile Launcher 1—the structure used to transport and launch key systems—and modifying elements to support crew during these missions.
“New capabilities are taking longer than planned, and the program has only limited time to address potential issues,” the GAO report adds.
Artemis IV launch (planned for September 2028): EGS has made some progress toward this mission, such as modifying facilities to accommodate processing and launching the larger Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B launch vehicle.
“However, much work remains, some of which cannot start until after the Artemis III launch,” the GAO report explains.
To review the GAO report — “Exploration Ground Systems Program Could Strengthen Schedule Decisions” – go to:
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