A company which manufactured aluminium components for NASA faked test results over 19 years, leading to the destruction of two space missions worth $700m .
A NASA investigation into the root cause for two failed launches in 2009 and 2011 discovered that materials produced by Sapa Profiles Inc were faulty. SPI was found to have falsified thousands of certifications for aluminium extrusions for hundreds of customers in a 19-year scheme. The company is a unit of Norsk Hydro, one of the world's largest suppliers of aluminium. Norsk agreed to pay $46m back to NASA for the failures, less than 7% of the damage it caused.
The two launches, one of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory and another for a satellite called Glory which would have observed aerosol pollution, failed within three years of each other.According to the space agency, the investigations into these failures found that"the launch vehicle fairing - a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere - failed to separate on command".
Unbelievable!!
Gotta love wasteful spending. Why did we up they’re budget again? For feel goods?
NASA caught up in a fake scandal. never!