← ARTEMIS TRACKER

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Who builds what, how much they charge, and what "cost-plus" means for your tax dollars. Every number from GAO audits and NASA Inspector General reports.

COST-PLUS vs FIXED-PRICE

Cost-Plus (most Artemis contracts)
Government reimburses ALL costs the contractor incurs, plus a guaranteed profit margin (usually 10-15%). No financial incentive to stay on budget. Overruns are the taxpayer's problem.
Fixed-Price (SpaceX HLS only)
Contractor agrees to deliver for a set price. If it costs more, the contractor absorbs the loss. If less, they keep the savings. Financial incentive to be efficient.
Boeing
SLS Core Stage & Upper Stage
Cost-plus
Delivered (late)
$7.0B→$23.8B+
  • •Core stage development was 6+ years behind schedule
  • •Cost overruns exceeded 200% of original estimates
  • •Boeing charged $1.6B for a single core stage green run test
  • •SLS uses RS-25 engines — rebuilt Space Shuttle Main Engines that cost ~$100M each and are thrown in the ocean after one use
  • •Each SLS launch costs approximately $2.2 billion — the rocket is fully expendable
Source: GAO-24-106237, NASA OIG IG-20-012
Lockheed Martin
Orion Crew Module
Cost-plus
Delivered (ongoing)
$6.0B→$20.4B+
  • •Development started in 2006 as the Crew Exploration Vehicle — 20 years ago
  • •Has flown twice: EFT-1 (2014, 4-hour test) and Artemis I (2022, uncrewed)
  • •Artemis I heat shield eroded more than predicted — required investigation before Artemis II
  • •Each Orion capsule costs approximately $1-2 billion
  • •Cannot land on the Moon — only orbits while Starship handles the landing
Source: NASA OIG IG-22-003
SpaceX
Starship Human Landing System (HLS)
Fixed-price
In development
$2.89B→$4.4B
  • •Only fixed-price contract in the program — SpaceX absorbs cost overruns, not taxpayers
  • •Must demonstrate orbital refueling (never done before) — requires ~10+ tanker launches per mission
  • •Must complete uncrewed lunar landing demo before crew can fly
  • •Starship has reached orbit but has not yet demonstrated landing from orbit
  • •If successful, Starship HLS would be the largest object ever to land on the Moon at 50m tall
Source: NASA contract NNJ21OA01C, GAO B-419783
Northrop Grumman
Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs)
Cost-plus
Delivered
$3.6B→$4.8B+
  • •Modified 5-segment versions of the Space Shuttle SRBs
  • •Unlike Shuttle boosters, SLS boosters are NOT recovered — they sink in the ocean
  • •Each pair costs approximately $250M and is used once
  • •Segments are manufactured in Utah and shipped by rail to Kennedy Space Center
Source: NASA OIG IG-20-012
Airbus Defence & Space (ESA)
European Service Module (ESM)
Barter agreement
Delivered
In-kind→~$2B (ESA contribution)
  • •ESA provides the service module in exchange for European astronaut flight opportunities
  • •Based on the ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) cargo ship that serviced ISS
  • •Provides propulsion, power (solar arrays), thermal control, and consumables storage
  • •ESA has committed to building 6 service modules for Artemis I through VI
Source: ESA Artemis agreements, NASA bilateral
Jacobs / Bechtel
Exploration Ground Systems / Mobile Launcher
Cost-plus
ML-1 delivered, ML-2 in progress
$383M (ML-1)→$1.8B (ML-1), $2.7B+ (ML-2)
  • •Mobile Launcher 1 cost overran by 370% — from $383M to $1.8B
  • •Mobile Launcher 2 (for SLS Block 1B) estimated at $2.7B and growing
  • •NASA OIG called ML-2 cost growth "unsustainable"
  • •The launch tower is so expensive it costs more than many entire space programs
Source: NASA OIG IG-23-014
ARTEMIS TRACKER — NIXFRED.TECH