Its development has cost NASA 3,000 million dollars a year. Each launch will involve another 2,000 million. It is not a novelty that the SLS rocket manufactured by Boeing is seen as a expensive and outdated option in front of the Spacex Starship or Blue Origin’s New Glenn. But considering that these are not ready to fly to the moon, the cancellation of the SLS was not something that Boeing had … until now.
A six -minute meeting. Boeing has about 800 employees dedicated to lunar SLS rocket. David Dutcher, the program director, gathered them on Friday to tell them that contracts could end in March under the new NASA administration. The company is preparing to face new layoffs in the event that contracts are not renewed, he told them.
According to Ars Technica, the meeting was summoned less than an hour in advance and lasted six minutes. Dutcher had prepared what he was going to say, was cold and did not admit questions, according to an anonymous source.
Context. The Space Launch System (SLS) is NASA’s rocket to return to the moon. Also one of the most controversial elements of the Lunar Artemis program. Its development, led by Boeing, began in 2011 taking advantage of technologies and components of previous programs, such as the space ferry.
Although this strategy allowed to reuse infrastructure and previous knowledge, it also led to a series of complexities in the integration of modern systems with the hardware already tested, so it has ended up accumulating multiple delays and cost overheads.
Of a rumor to a real possibility. Without an immediate alternative to the SLS, the rumors of cancellation of the rocket did not become a real possibility until Donald Trump was re -elected president and the young businessman Jared Isaacman, who traveled twice to the space with Spacex, nominated to direct NASA.
It was precisely the first Trump administration that created the Lunar Artemis program in 2017, but under the influence of Elon Musk, the second Trump administration promises that both are compatible).
Boeing prepares for the worst. It should be clarified that the United States Congress has not yet made any decision on NASA’s budget or a possible restructuring of Artemis missions, much less there is an established plan to get to Mars (it was supposed to first NASA would establish a base on the moon and then make the leap to the red planet).
But Boeing is preparing for the worst scenario after the White House published a budget proposal with adjustments for fiscal year 2026. The law forces the company to notify employees 60 days in advance in case of mass layoffs or closure of plants, hence the meeting with the SLS program team has been hurried.
The official Boeing statement. Far from hiding its forecasts, Boeing sent a statement to the media confirming the possibility of dismissing 400 employees in April 2025 to “align us with reviews of the Artemis program and budget expectations.”
“We are working with our client and looking for opportunities to redistribute employees throughout our company to minimize jobs losses and retain our talented teammates,” adds the statement.
Imagen | NASA’s Space Launch System
In WorldOfSoftware | Jared Isaacman still does not direct NASA, but it is already seen as the last nail in the coffin of a space giant: Boeing
