AMED TIMES - Steven Lukens of Florida has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and an $800,000 fine for defrauding NASA's Space Launch System. Lukens pleaded guilty to fraud by submitting falsified documents to provide materials for NASA's Space Launch System at Kennedy Space Centre.
As CEO of Gulf Atlantic International Supply, LLC, Lukens was tasked with supplying NASA with parts needed for hazardous liquids. However, he falsified quality control documents and supplied NASA with products that did not meet the contract's strict standards.
Serious risk to spacecraft
NASA stated that this situation posed a serious risk to the Artemis mission and the Orion spacecraft, which is designed to take astronauts to the moon and eventually to Mars. Lukens was ordered to repay the $271,000 in unjust enrichment and pay $689,280 in damages."
