This photo provided by NASA shows Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked at the International Space Station on July 3, 2024. The capsule launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS but will now return to Earth aboard the Space Crew Dragon capsule.
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WASHINGTON – When NASA announced that the Boeing Starliner crew would return to Earth next year in a ship built by the company’s rival, SpaceX, the questions began.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was asked how confident he is that Boeing’s space shuttle will fly again with a crew.
“100%,” Nelson replied without hesitation. Nelson said he had spoken with Boeing’s CEO before a news conference in Houston on Saturday, who assured him “they are going to go ahead and fly the Starliner in the future.”
Not everyone is convinced.
Starliner will return from space as soon as next week. But the two astronauts who blasted off in June for an eight-day mission on the International Space Station will now stay eight months because of a glitch that occurred during the test flight.
This is another blow to Boeing in terms of what’s going on brutal year for the aerospace giant, and observers say it could have big implications for the company’s future in space.
“Boeing will have to grapple with the consequences of the failure of this mission to achieve its test objectives,” said Todd Harrison, a space industry veteran who is now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Boeing has changed since the contract for the Starliner was awarded ten years ago, Harrison said, becoming less focused on human spaceflight.
“It’s possible that Boeing, in a matter of weeks or months, will come to the conclusion that they just have to back out” of the Starliner, he said. “This program seems like it doesn’t fit any other business.”
NASA Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore (L) and Pilot Suni Williams are shown to the launch pad for their mission to the International Space Station on June 5, 2024. The flight was supposed to last eight days – but now it will be about eight months for the astronauts.
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This would be a significant change for a company with a history in the space that spans decades.
Ten years ago, Boeing received the largest amount of funding for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program – more than $4 billion, while startup SpaceX received $2.6 billion. Boeing has lost an additional $1.6 billion on the Starliner.
NASA’s entire goal is to have more than one private company that can carry astronauts and equipment into orbit and back. Boeing’s struggles with the Starliner make the strategy look smart.
“This really proves that you need redundancy,” said Makena Young, a fellow with the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Sometimes things go wrong and you need a second plan.”
Young thought it was too soon to realize that Boeing would be walking away from the Starliner program.
“It hasn’t failed,” Young said. “We can still see the success of this system, if it can return to Earth and land safely.”
Space is a small part of Boeing’s portfolio. The company’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberghave other pressing issues, like transforming the company’s commercial airline business after major safety and quality control lapses.
The engineering challenges there are vastly different, but observers say there are some parallels.
“Almost all of Boeing’s problems are cultural,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation industry analyst at AeroDynamic Advisory. “This is a management team that has no connection with the people who actually do the design, integration and creation of the company’s products. That’s a recipe for problems. And you’ve seen it in jetliners and defense products and now, of course, in space systems.
Boeing hasn’t said much about the Starliner.
NASA Associate Administrator James Free (LR), Associate Administrator Ken Bowersox, Commercial Crew Manager Steve Stich and International Space Station Program Manager Dana Weigel spoke during a press conference to discuss the return plan of the two astronauts who remained stranded at the International Space Station, in Johnson. Space Center in Houston, Texas, last Saturday.
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“I understand this is not the decision we wanted, but we are prepared to take the necessary actions to support NASA’s decision,” wrote Mark Nappi, head of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, in an internal email shared by the company.
“The focus remains first and foremost on ensuring the safety of the crew and the spacecraft,” Nappi said. “I have the utmost confidence in this team to prepare Starliner for its safe and successful return with the same level of professionalism and determination as it did during the first half of the mission.”
Boeing maintains that the astronauts were able to return safely in the Starliner. NASA officials decided not to take that chance. But he tried to put a good spin on NASA’s relationship with Boeing.
“I think the key word is partner,” NASA’s Ken Bowersox said during a weekend press conference. “A lot of people want to focus on contractual relationships where we buy things from companies. It’s not done that way, right? We have a contract with Boeing, but we’re working together to develop this capability for our country.
The partnership between Boeing and NASA continues to this day. But the International Space Station is set to be decommissioned in 2030. It’s possible the partnership could end — if not sooner.
