The proposed lander mission following Europa Clipper is unlikely to meet its intended 2025 launch deadline.
Barry Goldstein, project manager for Europa Clipper, indicated that workforce availability has impacted the mission's timeline.
The report provides a 70 percent confidence level for a 2024 launch of Europa Clipper, with an estimated cost between $3.5 billion to $4 billion.
NASA needs 52 months to produce a core stage for the Space Launch System necessary for the Europa Clipper launch.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and make close approaches to its moon Europa.
The fiscal year 2020 spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee provides $592.6 million for Europa Clipper but no funding for the lander mission.
As of October 2018, Europa Clipper was understaffed by 42 full-time equivalent positions at JPL.
The Office of Inspector General's report predicts a very low probability for a 2022 launch of Europa Clipper.
The fiscal year 2020 spending bill includes $592,600,000 for the Europa Clipper mission and plans a 2023 launch of Europa Clipper on a commercial launch vehicle.
The fiscal year 2020 spending bill retained language requiring the use of the Space Launch System for both Europa Clipper and the follow-on lander and set a 2023 launch date for Clipper and 2025 for the lander.
Both NASA and Congress support a 2023 launch date for Europa Clipper.
NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget proposal calls for using a commercially procured launch vehicle for Europa Clipper to save over $700,000,000 compared with SLS while requiring gravity assist maneuvers and increasing travel time by several years.
The fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill mandated use of the Space Launch System (SLS) to launch Europa Clipper.
NASA would seek to launch Europa Clipper on a commercial launch vehicle rather than SLS in fiscal year 2020 planning, a move projected to save over $700,000,000.
In the final fiscal year 2019 funding bill, Europa Clipper received $545 million, more than double NASA’s request of $264,700,000.
NASA had requested $264,700,000 for Europa Clipper and had requested no funding for a Europa lander in the fiscal year 2019 budget request.
The fiscal year 2019 appropriations language called for launching Europa Clipper in 2022 on a Space Launch System and launching the Europa lander as soon as 2024.
John Culberson added $545,000,000 for Europa Clipper and $195,000,000 for a Europa lander in the fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill.
The original administration request for Europa Clipper funding was $264,700,000 in fiscal year 2019 and included no funding for a Europa lander.
One of the additional SLS Block 1 missions with the ICPS is reserved for launching NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon Europa.