Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Wednesday April 07 2021, @09:48PM   Printer-friendly
from the Now-that's-just-sick! dept.

Pandemic to cost NASA up to $3 billion

A NASA audit concluded that costs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the agency could reach $3 billion, with several major science and exploration programs accounting for much of that cost.

A March 31 report by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated that the agency expects that the pandemic's effects on the agency, ranging from closed facilities to disrupted supply chains, to be nearly $3 billion. Of that, about $1.6 billion came from 30 major programs and projects, defined by NASA as those with a total cost of at least $250 million.

[...] The project with the largest cost increase in the report is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, formerly known as the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). It reported $3 million in costs because of the pandemic in fiscal year 2020, but estimates nearly $400 million in additional impacts in future years. The mission has a lifecycle cost of $3.9 billion.

[...] The Space Launch System had the second-highest cost increase in terms of overall dollars, at $363 million, of which $8 million was in fiscal year 2020 and $355 million in fiscal years 2021 through 2023. A three-month delay in the first SLS mission, Artemis 1, along with "rephrasing production" each accounted for about one-third of the costs. The rest came from "surge costs" to compress schedules as well as the costs of facility shutdowns.

The Orion spacecraft suffered $146 million in costs, including $5 million in fiscal year 2020 and $66 million in fiscal year 2021. Because the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission was nearly complete at the time the pandemic hit, the largest effects were on the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 and 3 missions, both still in production. Those problems extended to Europe, with delays in the production of the European Service Module for the Artemis 2 Orion.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:12AM (5 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:12AM (#1134535) Journal

    $3 Billion is just a drop. Not even a drop in a bucket, but a drop in a swimming pool. All across America, how many businesses have been shut down, that will never reopen? How many more have been severely crippled, they might survive, but that infamous "return on investment" has been blown to hell. And, all the other businesses, big and small, that are losing money during the down time. Not crippled, like those I've already mentioned, but just bleeding money.

    Then, there are all those private citizens who are losing money.

    Stack $3 Billion up against all of that, nationwide. Less than a drop in a swimming pool. The question is, should it be an Olympic sized pool?

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:20AM (3 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:20AM (#1134544)

    What point do you think you're making?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:27AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:27AM (#1134554)

      I think the point is that when you've got a problem that needs stupidizing, you should remember to visit The Stupidist.

      • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 08 2021, @01:08AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 08 2021, @01:08AM (#1134564)

        We did hear from Runaway1956, who in a recent pole, was voted the most stupidest Soylentil. Now he's opining on economics, which is usually khallow's obsessive compulsive topic.

                Small businesses? Closed? Never to re-open? Well, good. If they can't make it through a one-year pandemic shut-down, probably mismanaged and a front for drug-dealing. And besides, the "personal responsibility" crowd do not realize that small businesses only exist to recycle any capital accumulation from the petit bourgeosie, but getting them to put up their savings, and then lose them in the inevitable bankruptcy. Kind of a Trump business plan. And then, they have to go back to work for a living.

        • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Friday April 09 2021, @01:44PM

          by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Friday April 09 2021, @01:44PM (#1135287) Homepage
          I suspect Runaway knows the difference between a "poll" and a "pole". At least this proves that you're "punching up".
          --
          Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 1) by melyan on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:27AM

    by melyan (14385) on Thursday April 08 2021, @12:27AM (#1134553) Journal

    America is about $10 trillion.