Steven Lukens of Florida was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $800,000 in fines for defrauding NASA's Space Launch System.
Lukens pleaded guilty to charges that he committed fraud at the Kennedy Space Center by submitting false documents to obtain supplies for NASA's Space Launch System.
As CEO of Gulf Atlantic International Supply, LLC, Lukens was tasked with providing NASA with parts needed for hazardous liquids, but falsified quality control documents and provided NASA with products that did not meet the strict standards of the contract.
NASA said this posed serious risks to the Artemis mission and the Orion spacecraft, designed to take astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars.
Lukens was ordered to return $271,000 in ill-gotten gains and pay $689,280 in damages.
