NASA’s Moon Ambitions Delayed by Boeing SLS Issues

Under pressure from the White House, NASA will revise its Artemis lunar programme and the Space Launch System super-heavy rocket programme due to budget overruns and falling behind schedule. Against the backdrop of these plans, Boeing, the main contractor of the US space agency, has warned about 400 employees involved in the rocket project of impending layoffs by April 2025.

Boeing’s SLS: Will the Moon’s Mega Rocket Fly?

Boeing believes the new US presidential administration will propose to halt SLS development in a future draft budget.

Late last week, Boeing vice president and SLS programme manager David Dutcher held a six-minute meeting with about 800 rocket programme employees. The meeting coincided with the expected release of President Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026.

The executive shared with staff that the company’s SLS contracts could end this March. According to Dutcher, Boeing is preparing for layoffs if the contracts with NASA are not renewed.

‘We are working with our customer and are looking to redeploy employees across our company to minimise job losses and retain our talented colleagues,’ a Boeing spokesperson told reporters.

NASA: ‘SLS Remains a Critical Component of the Artemis Mission’

NASA did not specify how the proposed layoffs would affect future lunar missions. However, a spokesperson for the space agency commented on a statement from its prime contractor for the lunar programme, ‘NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is a critical component of the agency’s Artemis campaign.’

NASA and its industry partners continually work together to evaluate and align budget, resources, contractor performance and schedules to efficiently, safely and successfully meet mission requirements in support of NASA’s Luna Mars goals and objectives.’ NASA relies on its industry contractors for additional information about their workforce.’

NASA’s Moon Programme Artemis Fogged in Uncertainty

The cause of the recent events is the recent discussion on the future of SLS and the Artemis programme between the White House and senior NASA officials. During this meeting, some commercial space advocates pushed for the cancellation of the rocket.

Donald Trump’s administration is considering reviewing the entire architecture, including cancelling key elements such as the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

At the same time, Janet Petro, the space agency’s acting administrator, has urged President Trump’s administration to allow the Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 missions to be launched using the SLS before the rocket programme is cancelled.

Critics point out that NASA should cut its spending. Retaining SLS for the moon landing will slow progress because large contractors, including Boeing, will have a vested interest in slowing work and delaying funding, opponents of the Boeing rocket believe.

The cost of a single SLS launch exceeds $2 billion, not counting payloads and the price of ground systems.

By comparison, SpaceX has developed two heavy-lift rockets in the last decade, and Blue Origin launched its New Glenn in early 2025. Each rocket is partially reusable and costs less than one-tenth the price of the SLS.

Elon Musk: ‘Mars First!’

‘The Artemis architecture is highly inefficient because it is a programme that maximises jobs, not results. Something completely new is needed,’ Elon Musk noted on social network X.

‘No, we’re going straight to Mars. The moon is a distraction. The key is mass in orbit and then mass on the surface of Mars,’ Musk wrote on social network X in early January. ‘The former has to be in the range of megatons per orbit per year to build a self-sufficient colony on Mars.’

Also, many analysts noted that during his inauguration speech, Trump did not mention the Moon but instead talked about ‘launching American astronauts to plant star-spangled flags on Mars’.

The idea of conquering Mars rather than the Moon is linked to Musk’s influence on the new president.

SpaceX’s CEO plans to land the Starship mega-rocket on the surface of the Red Planet by 2026. That would put Starship several years ahead of NASA’s plan to use the Moon as a test bed for landing astronauts on Mars sometime in the 2030s.

Space Launch System: How Did It All Begin?

The SLS rocket was to serve as the primary launch vehicle for the Artemis lunar landing programme, but it experienced nearly a decade of delays and severe cost overruns.

In 2011, the U.S. Congress and NASA senior management mandated the development of the SLS. 

The rocket is intended to replace the Space Shuttle programme and is built mainly from Space Shuttle components, including the main engines and side boosters.

NASA plans to use the SLS rocket to power 10 or more Artemis missions. These missions aim to return humans to the moon’s surface and establish a permanent lunar outpost.

Over the programme’s life, NASA has spent about $3 billion annually on developing the rocket and its ground systems. 

The first SLS rocket was due for launch in 2016 but didn’t take to the air until late 2022 for the Artemis 1 mission, sending the ethereal Orion spacecraft around the moon and back.