NASA was sold faulty aluminum for 19 years
An investigation by NASA has uncovered that one of its former metals manufacturers, Sapa Profiles, falsified test results and provided it with faulty aluminum parts for almost 20 years.
Sapa Profiles faked the certifications for its parts from 1996 to 2015, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, for "hundreds of customers" including NASA.
The space agency wasn't the only client that lost out from this fraudulent activity, but it could be the one that was most damaged by it: NASA used Sapa's parts in the making of Taurus XL, a rocket that was used in two missions in 2009 and 2011. Both missions failed, causing NASA to lose somewhere around $700 million, Engadget explained.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The company, now called Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc., has since ended its contract with NASA. Now, it's prevented from ever entering into a contract with the U.S. government again, in addition to fines of $46 million paid to NASA, the Department of Defense, and others.
NASA's director of Launch Services, Jim Norman, explained that falsified tests can result in not only property damage and wasted time, money, and resources, but also, in this case, "severely violated" their trust in their suppliers. "NASA relies on the integrity of our industry throughout the supply chain," he said. Read more at Bloomberg.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
Quiz of The Week: 13 - 19 April
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
'Colleges warn of punishment for disruptions'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published