Starliner Is Such a Disaster That Boeing May Cancel the Entire Project
Boeing's Starliner project faces potential cancellation due to technical issues and a $1.6 billion budget overrun. NASA astronauts will return via SpaceX's Crew Dragon, raising doubts about Starliner's future.
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Boeing's Starliner project is facing severe challenges, leading to speculation about its potential cancellation. NASA recently announced that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return from the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon instead of Starliner, which has been plagued by technical issues, supply chain problems, and significant budget overruns totaling $1.6 billion since 2016. A recent report from NASA's inspector general highlighted that Boeing's contributions to the Moonbound Space Launch System are also significantly delayed and over budget. Analysts express doubts about Starliner's future viability, noting that the spacecraft's first crewed test flight was marred by gas leaks and thruster issues, prompting NASA to reconsider its involvement with Boeing. The ISS is expected to be retired by 2030, and with five years since the first uncrewed test flight ended in failure, the timeline for Starliner is becoming increasingly precarious. Additionally, Boeing is reportedly in discussions to sell its joint rocket-launching business, and skilled workers are leaving for competitors like SpaceX and Blue Origin. The future of the Starliner project remains uncertain as Boeing focuses on ensuring the safety of the spacecraft and crew.
- Boeing's Starliner project may be canceled due to ongoing technical and budget issues.
- NASA astronauts will return via SpaceX's Crew Dragon instead of Starliner.
- The project has experienced a $1.6 billion budget overrun since 2016.
- Analysts doubt Starliner's future viability amid significant delays and failures.
- Boeing is losing skilled workers to competitors in the space industry.
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19 comments(At first I didn't think this could really work, until I realized the second craft could have been towed up by the first.)
Incredible kudos to SpaceX, when you consider its comparable competitors repeatedly fumble (Boeing), move slow (Blue Origin), lost their edge (Russia), fidget spinner themselves out of relevance (ULA, Arianespace, Orbital Sciences), whiffed (Sea Launch), or very "successfully" build, launch and discard fortunes (er, flights) for the purpose of justifying those same flights (er, fortunes) (NASA).
Kudos to China too for some prolonged and relatively rapid progress. It will be interesting to see how that progress continues given the "Coolish War" we are now in.
It will require quite a significant investment to fix the project, while Boeing is already loosing money on this fixed price contract.
The SpaceX leadership has goals that can be opaque and need not align with NASA's. Recently, in the context of X and Tesla, they've bordered on deranged and even anti-American.
If Boeing can get out of the learning phase, even as an imperfect company, it can provide a most valuable service even if its platform is nominally second best.
> According to DCMA officials, this is a high number of CARs [Corrective Action Requests] for a space flight system at this stage in development and reflects a recurring and degraded state of product quality control.
> Quality control issues at Michoud are largely due to the lack of a sufficient number of trained and experienced aerospace workers at Boeing
If this was to be a "jobs" program more than anything, I guess that makes sense. They just added more "jobs" but never actually bothered to train anyone. Doesn't Boeing worry how this looks on them? I would be terribly embarrassed if I was anywhere adjacent to that team's leadership.
Searching for "Principles" brigs us to this page https://www.boeing.com/sustainability/values
First item "Start with engineering excellence. A strong engineering foundation enables us to build and maintain our products with safety, quality and integrity in the factory and in service. Our customers expect it. That’s why we will always take the time to get the engineering right".
Well, they failed their very first principle, didn't they. At least don't put it right at the top, hide it down at the bottom to at least avoid being accused of hypocrisy.
That's not an unfortunate development at all. The decision to not risk human lives is based on what's already happened, it's not a new happening. If Starliner comes back successfully/safely, that will be a plus, and if it doesn't, that will be a new minus.
Some more discussion:
NASA's Starliner decision was the right one, but it's a crushing blow for Boeing
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41346778
Boeing employees 'humiliated' that upstart rival SpaceX will rescue astronauts
So here we are where an 8 day mission turns into a 6 month mission because NASA (via SpaceX )doesn't have a backup? How did that happen?
It's also worth noting that Crew Dragon can be configured for 6 passengers. NASA uses a 4 passenger configuration because there's simply no need for a 6 person configuration... except for now.
It may actually end up being cheaper for Boeing to simply return the money (or negotiate a partial return) and throw up the white flag. Boeing is in such a terrible state. It's simply coasting on earlier successes and airlines being locked in to the 737 type rating.
Aren't there some questions about its capabilities because they seemed unable to do certain unmanned tests and there was speculation that they may have removed some of the autonomous software capabilities.
Has this been disproven?
That's...a long way away.
But yeah just keeps pointing to the same issue: pervasive culture problems. Can't fix that by cancelling projects
Related
Boeing's Starliner has cost at least twice as much as SpaceX's Crew Dragon
Boeing's Starliner program has lost $1.6 billion since 2016, with delays pushing the first crewed flight to June 2024. NASA may clear Starliner for return, but operational missions are delayed until February 2025.
It's Sounding Like Boeing's Starliner May Have Failed
Boeing's Starliner faces challenges with two astronauts stranded for nearly two months. SpaceX may conduct a rescue, raising concerns about Starliner's viability and NASA's oversight amid significant financial losses.
Boeing's Starliner proves better at torching cash than reaching orbit
Boeing reported a $125 million loss on its Starliner spacecraft, totaling over $1 billion in losses. Delays due to technical issues may extend financial losses, with the next flight expected in August 2025.
NASA Says Boeing Starliner Astronauts May Fly Home on SpaceX in 2025
NASA is considering using SpaceX's Crew Dragon for the return of astronauts from the ISS due to significant issues with Boeing's Starliner, which has also led to financial losses for Boeing.
NASA's Starliner decision was the right one, but it's a crushing blow for Boeing
NASA has halted Boeing's Starliner crewed flight due to safety issues, raising doubts about future missions. Boeing faces significant delays, technical problems, and has incurred $1.6 billion in charges.