Elon Musk said NASA would be better off moving workers tied to the Space Launch System into other parts of the economy as criticism revived questions over the multibillion-dollar cost of the agency’s Moon rocket.
Musk Says SLS Workforce Should Move Elsewhere
"It would be better to repurpose the workforce to other parts of the economy," Musk wrote in an X post on Tuesday, replying to a post attacking SLS costs and arguing the program has been sustained to preserve legacy aerospace jobs.
NASA’s inspector general estimated in 2021 that flying one SLS/Orion system through Artemis IV would average about $4.1 billion per launch. The figure covers the rocket, Orion spacecraft, European Service Module and ground operations — not SLS alone. The watchdog estimated SLS production itself at about $2.2 billion per mission.
The workforce argument has grounding. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2012 said the 2010 NASA Authorization Act directed the agency to leverage Space Shuttle and Constellation investments and workforce for SLS. The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) later said that mandate led the agency to retain Shuttle-era systems, infrastructure and contracts.
Legacy SLS Costs Face Renewed Scrutiny
That legacy approach has drawn cost scrutiny. NASA OIG said NASA underestimated the complexity of adapting heritage engines and boosters, while GAO identified Boeing Co.’s (NYSE:BA) core-stage contract as cost-plus-award-fee. Musk previously reacted to a NASA OIG estimate that the Artemis IV mobile launcher could cost $2.7 billion.
The parent post contrasted SLS with Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) reusable Falcon Heavy. SpaceX says Falcon Heavy can carry 63.8 metric tons to low Earth orbit, while NASA lists SLS Block 1 at 95 metric tons to low Earth orbit and more than 27 metric tons toward the Moon. The vehicles are not directly equivalent.
NASA Shifts Artemis Toward Commercial Systems
However, policy is shifting. The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 NASA budget proposal calls for an "orderly phase out" of SLS after Artemis III and commercial transportation services for later Artemis missions. The proposed shift toward commercial systems was part of a broader NASA overhaul.
NASA is still pressing ahead. Artemis II carried astronauts around the Moon in April, and NASA is assembling the Artemis III vehicle for a 2027 crewed demonstration mission in low Earth orbit before a planned Artemis IV lunar landing in 2028.
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