Supply Chain Disruptions Causing Cost and Schedule Risks in Artemis Program
Definition
NASA's Artemis programs bear excessive cost and schedule risks due to reliance on prime contractors without sufficient Agency visibility into subcontractors and sub-tier suppliers, particularly under fixed-price contracts where risks shift to the government if contractor costs rise from supply chain issues. No formal office manages supply chain risks across the campaign, leaving individual programs dependent on primes to report challenges inconsistently. This leads to unmitigated vulnerabilities from competing national security demands on shared suppliers.
Key Findings
- Financial Impact: Billions in program costs at risk (Artemis total exceeds $90B)
- Frequency: Ongoing throughout multi-year contracts
- Root Cause: Lack of centralized supply chain oversight and limited insight into prime contractors' subcontractors under cost-reimbursement and fixed-price contracts
Why This Matters
This pain point represents a significant opportunity for B2B solutions targeting Space Research and Technology.
Affected Stakeholders
Program Managers, Prime Contractors, Procurement Officers, Supply Chain Analysts
Deep Analysis (Premium)
Financial Impact
$18,500,000 (SLS Core Stage 2) + $41,000,000 (Orion capsule) identified + unknown unmeasured losses • $18.5M+ already in SLS Core Stage 2 cost overruns; $41M projected Orion cost increases; total Artemis budget risk estimated in billions • $40B+ in Artemis contractor agreements at risk from unvalidated supply chain claims; cost increases approved without full visibility into root cause
Current Workarounds
Ad-hoc requests to prime contractors; manual compilation of subcontractor lists; memory of previous issues • Ad-hoc spreadsheets and meetings to chase prime contractor updates without Agency-wide tracking • Budget Analyst manually reconciles contractor invoices against budget baseline; creates variance reports in Excel; tracks cost overruns by contract but not by supply chain root cause
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Methodology & Sources
Data collected via OSINT from regulatory filings, industry audits, and verified case studies.
Evidence Sources:
Related Business Risks
Idle Capacity and Bottlenecks from Single Supplier Reliance in Space Supply Chains
Non-Compliance with Subcontract Reporting in Prime Contractor Oversight
Chronic Cost and Schedule Growth in Mission Development
Chronic Cost Overruns in Space Acquisition Programs Due to Inaccurate Estimates and Technical Risks
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