NASA Eyes Boeing-Lockheed Rocket Component For Moon Mission As Costs Skyrocket: Report
NASA is reportedly seeking rocket components from Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) and Lockheed Martin Corp's joint venture, the United Launch Alliance (ULA).
Costs Ballooned
In a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, it was said that the Exploration Upper Stage of the agency's Space Launch System, which has been built by Boeing, has been plagued by delays and costs ballooning to over $2.8 billion.
Instead, the agency seeks to use the ULA-built Vulcan rocket's Centaur V, which uses the same propellant as the SLS, during the lunar mission, anonymous sources familiar with the matter said in the report, though the plan isn't set in stone.
Former Shift4 Payments Inc. (NASDAQ:FOUR) CEO and NASA's current Administrator, Jared Isaacman, had earlier announced that NASA was exploring alternatives to Boeing's Exploration Upper Stage as the agency aims to standardize the vehicle configuration for the mission. Isaacman also announced that the Artemis IV mission would be landing on the moon instead of the Artemis III, as earlier planned.
NASA's Artemis, SpaceX's Starship
The news comes as NASA had delayed the launch of the Artemis II vehicle due to issues with the rocket. The agency rolled back the SLS vehicle from its launch pad on Kennedy Space Center in Florida after NASA engineers observed “interrupted flow of helium."
Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has expressed confidence in the company's Starship rocket, sharing that the V3 rocket will be able to achieve full reusability amid a shift in focus for the company towards the Moon and away from Mars.
Photo courtesy: Pandora Pictures / Shutterstock.com
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1. Technology stocks fell sharply as investor interest shifted toward energy and selected defensive assets. From October 10 to 16, the Nasdaq 100 declined 5.49% and the S&P 500 fell 1.95%, while the Dow gained 0.67% and WTI crude rose 10.41%. BTC, ETH, and SOL declined 1.27%, 2.65%, and 4.44%, respectively. This week's technology earnings will be an important test of whether revenue growth, margins, and cash flow can justify current valuations. Better-than-expected results could help stabilize markets in the near term. 2. Crypto continues to see pockets of strong activity, but a broad-based altcoin season has yet to materialize. CoinMarketCap's (CMC) Altcoin Season Index stood at 54 as of the October 18 UTC daily observation, below the altcoin-season threshold of 75, while BTC dominance rose to 60.08%. Our proxy leverage ratio fluctuated between 4.00 and 4.07 during the week, showing no sustained increase and suggesting limited appetite for additional leverage. Meanwhile, as major exchanges expand access to traditional financial assets, the recent sell-off in AI-related equities could attract short-term speculative capital away from crypto. Such capital rotation could make it more difficult for a new altcoin season to take hold. 3. Papertrade's loss-to-mine model has generated significant interest across the crypto community. The protocol combines high-leverage derivatives trading with zero slippage and a mechanism that rewards trading losses with PAPER tokens. Across the eight complete UTC days from October 10 to 17, cumulative reported revenue reached approximately $56.08 million, including $51.90 million distributed to token holders. With growing participation from key opinion leaders (KOLs), Papertrade has reportedly ranked among the top three platforms by profitability in the broader market recently. Assets to watch: BTC, ETH, SOL, ARB, OP, SKHYNIX, SKHY, META, TSLA, LRCX, and SPCX. Key research priorities this week: Cash flow performance in technology earnings; the relative discount and holding costs of the two SK Hynix contracts; and U.S. initial jobless claims and PMI data. Weekly market data cover the period through October 16, while research information was verified through October 18. Observation periods are specified separately for each chart.
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