Perhaps the time has come for Boeing to abandon its space efforts. The first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) was marred by delays and technical glitches, prompting Boeing to consider selling its troubled program entirely.
Boeing is reportedly exploring the option of selling its NASA-related business, according to the Wall Street Journal. The publication cites sources familiar with the matter who said the company wants to sell some parts of its space business, including the Starliner spacecraft, while keeping components that are being built for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.
Newly appointed Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg hinted at the possibility of Boeing spinning off its space-related business during a recent earnings call, in which the company disclosed an additional $250 million charge to cover Starliner cost overruns. “It’s better to do less and do it better than to do more and not do it well,” Ortberg is quoted as saying during the earnings conference call. “Clearly, our core of commercial aircraft and defense systems will remain with the Boeing company for the long term, but there are probably some things on the side that we can be more efficient with, or that simply distract us from our main objective. here.”
So far, Starliner has cost Boeing a whopping $1.85 billion in total losses. Under its $4.2 billion contract with NASA, Boeing retains full ownership of the Starliner spacecraft. NASA acts as a customer and purchases round-trip missions to transport crew and cargo to the ISS. Over the past decade since Boeing was hired by NASA, the company has been unable to conduct an operational mission to the space station, while its counterpart, SpaceX, has flown nine astronaut crews to the ISS.
After years of delays, Boeing finally launched a crewed test flight to the ISS but it was a total fiasco. The CST-100 Starliner launched to the ISS on June 5, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams. During its trip to the ISS, five of the spacecraft’s thrusters failed and the spacecraft developed five helium leaks, one of which was identified before takeoff. The spacecraft remained docked with the space station for three months while teams on the ground debated whether to return the crew aboard Starliner.
Mission teams conducted ground tests in an attempt to identify the main issue behind the booster problem before ultimately deciding to return an uncrewed Starliner and bring the two astronauts back aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft undocked from the ISS on September 6, leaving its crew behind. Wilmore and Williams, along with SpaceX Crew-9, will return to Earth in February 2025, having spent eight months aboard the ISS, as opposed to the original plan for an eight-day mission.
The failed test flight led NASA to delay the next Starliner launch opportunity to the ISS. The space agency expected Starliner to launch its first operational mission early next year, but instead reserved the SpaceX crew capsule for two missions in 2025. Once again, NASA was forced to rely on its partner most reliable commercial company, SpaceX, which left Boeing in uncertainty. about the fate of their ramshackle spaceship.
It would make sense, then, for the company to consider opting out of the effort that has cost it millions so far and tarnished its long-standing reputation in the space industry. When NASA first awarded its Commercial Crew Program contracts in 2014, Boeing was a well-known force in the industry, while SpaceX was a relative newcomer. In 1969, three astronauts launched to the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission, powered by a first-stage booster built by Boeing for the Saturn V rocket. When first envisioned in 2010, Starliner was inspired by the company’s history with the Apollo mission, but the spacecraft failed to live up to its legacy and may cause the demise of Boeing’s space dreams.