Colorado-based company Wilson Aerospace is suing Boeing for “theft” of its intellectual property. At issue is a specific tool developed by Wilson, known as the Fluid Fitting Torque Device-3, that Boeing needs to install four main engines on Space Launch System rockets. said.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal district court in Seattle, where Boeing was originally based. The complaint alleges that Boeing contacted Wilson in March 2014 after learning that it had developed a special torque device that could accurately install high-torque fittings and nuts in tight spaces. there is
The engine section at the bottom of the Space Launch Systems rocket is one such tight space, with four RS-25 engines coupled to a large core stage with propellant and oxidizer tanks. Boeing is the prime contractor for the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket that launched NASA’s unmanned Artemis I mission to orbit the Moon in November 2022.
“Survival Threat”
“If the engine had not been installed and mounted perfectly, the rocket would not have launched,” the complaint states. “This was an existential threat to the SLS project as a whole, and especially to Boeing’s continued involvement in this lucrative project. , hadn’t found a way to attach all the components yet. Boeing’s existing tools were not allowed to be used, and no other tools were available to calibrate the required torque with the extreme accuracy that NASA requires for his SLS program. ”
Wilson said Boeing wanted to use the company’s torquer because it could operate in this tight space with the necessary force and precision.
According to the complaint, Boeing arranged for a “live” demonstration of the Wilson Torque device after the first few rounds of talks, during which participants were asked to demonstrate the tool’s capabilities and performance. can be handled and manipulated. However, Wilson claims it was unaware that some of the participants in the demonstration were not Boeing employees.
“Wilson subsequently learned that at least seven of those present at the live presentation were outside Boeing and were employees of Wilson’s direct competitors at the time,” the complaint reads. . “This fact was covered up from Wilson, who was tricked into giving a presentation by Boeing and ‘fake Boeing employees’ by falsely suggesting to Wilson that they were all Boeing employees.”
The complaint alleges that Boeing then used information from the demonstration, as well as its own drawings and designs, to work with Wilson’s competitors to develop a cheaper solution. “Boeing concealed these facts from Wilson as part of a plan to defraud Wilson and transmit Wilson’s intellectual property to a direct competitor,” the complaint reads.
In response to the 74-page lawsuit, a Boeing spokesperson told Ars, “There are many inaccuracies and omissions in this lawsuit, which we will defend vigorously in court.”
seek a jury trial
The lawsuit has many more allegations that prove Boeing’s long history of stealing intellectual property from suppliers and contractors and working with NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense to defend itself against it. Trying to. activity.
Wilson Aerospace is seeking a jury trial and punitive damages for what it purports to be theft of its property, and hopes to prevent such conduct in the future.
Usually, such cases do not end up in a jury court. But if it does come to fruition, it could reveal more details about Boeing’s development of the core stage, as well as multiple problems with leaks during refueling trials at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
For example, the complaint states, “Boeing’s non-conforming and inferior quality tools were responsible for the leaks that occurred at the SLS project, which may have caused the leaks to the equipment of Boeing’s joint venture partners and licensees, and that future discoveries will will be revealed,” he said.
When it finally launched last November, the Space Launch System worked admirably, sending the Orion spacecraft into orbit perfectly. But by the time the rocket launched, it was six years behind its original launch date in late 2016 and billions of dollars over budget.