The aerospace giant, Boeing was sued, on Wednesday (June 7) by a company based in the US state of Colorado for allegedly “stealing” trade secrets for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and which could have led to leaks on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Boeing has denied these charges and said that the lawsuit has “inaccuracies and omissions”.
What are the accusations against Boeing?
The lawsuit was filed by a company named Wilson Aerospace in a federal court in the United States city of Seattle. According to the complaint, Wilson Aerospace was working with Boeing for two years between 2014 and 2016 after the latter sought the former’s help for safely attaching engines to the SLS rocket.
This comes as Boeing has reportedly feared the loss of billions of dollars of NASA revenue. Wilson claims that after the company provided Boeing with the designs for a unique torque wrench, the latter cancelled the former’s contract. However, according to Wilson, Boeing continued to use its intellectual property without “full instructions” on how to build or install it.
Wilson has accused Boeing of creating “critically deficient in quality and performance,” versions of their design, adding that these “mismatched” tools may have caused or contributed to dangerous leaks which had delayed the launch of the SLS rocket, reported Sky News.
The lawsuit also said that Boeing was able to earn billions of dollars in revenue because of the “infringement of Wilson’s trade secrets.” It added that Boeing must turn over “all revenues and profits Boeing has obtained as a result.”
The lawsuit then claims that Boeing went on to blame the leaks which could endanger astronauts on Wilson’s design. “Boeing has not only stolen our intellectual property and damaged our company’s reputation but has used the technology incorrectly and at the expense of astronauts’ safety, which is beyond despicable,” said founder and president, David Wilson, as quoted by Sky News.
However, this is not the only project that two aerospace companies had collaborated on and in relation to a somewhat similar allegation Wilson said Boeing stole trade secrets related to bolt installation tools for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft which the Colorado-based company was asked to design in 2012.
Boeing’s response to the allegations, lawsuit
In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, the aerospace giant based in Arlington, Virginia, said, “This lawsuit is rife with inaccuracies and omissions.” It added, “We will vigorously defend against this in court.”
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) SLS rocket was first launched last year and was a part of the agency’s Artemis program which aims to put astronauts back on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in over 50 years.
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