Boeing negotiating with NASA on future SLS Core Stage production

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From the Ars Technica Rocket Report 01-23-2020:
"NASA sole-source document reveals SLS details. NASA is presently negotiating with Boeing over the procurement of core stages number three through 12 for the Space Launch System rocket, and NASASpaceflight.com has reviewed a formal justification for the award that provides insight into the contract. For example, Boeing estimates it will take about three years to build a single core stage.

Three at a time ... The sole-source justification document notes that there would typically be three units being processed at Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, simultaneously, in different phases of production. Each core stage takes 16 months to procure and receive long-lead materials, and another 36 months to manufacture, test, and deliver to the Kennedy Space Center."

From NASASpaceFlight.com:
"Now that the first of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stages has shipped from the factory, prime contractor Boeing is refining production plans for the second flight article and continuing negotiations with the civilian space agency for future production. The production team at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans is applying lessons learned from the process of completing the first Core to building the second one while NASA and Boeing are planning to build more."

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/01 ... cketReport

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