Pentagon Watchdog Cites Top U.S. Space Contractors for Quality-Control Lapses
- Audit found debris on plant floor, including animal feces
- Watchdog discloses no instances where launches were endangered
Photographer: Red Huber/TNS via Getty Images
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The Pentagon’s Inspector General cited key contractors in the military’s primary space launch program, including billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc., for a range of quality-control lapses which it said could result in increased costs or delays to launches.
SpaceX, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and United Launch Alliance LLC -- a partnership between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. -- were cited for 181 “nonconformities” to aerospace industry standards, according to an audit published Friday. Of those, 68 were considered major lapses, the rest minor.