Despite Climbing Costs, Boeing Says It Is Committed To Starliner
Boeing had hoped to follow its Starliner uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, which ended with a parachute touchdown in White Sands, New Mexico, on May 25, 2022, with a crewed flight test this month.
Boeing is “absolutely, positively” committed to the troubled CST-100 Starliner crewed capsule for NASA despite continued cost overruns and new problems that have pushed back a long-delayed launch, the company’s defense and space CEO said.
Ahead of a critical piloted flight test previously expected for July, the company and NASA discovered two technical problems that need to be resolved prior to launch. The first is a data entry error by the craft’s parachute system manufacturer, Airborne Systems, that camouflaged a problem with the chutes’ suspension lines. Second, engineers discovered that the tape used to protect wire harnesses inside the capsule has a flammable adhesive.
- Boeing assessing launch dates
- The company’s unplanned costs near $1 billion
Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said the company and NASA are working to address the issues, which will require a repeat of tests to certify the parachutes. “We have a couple of challenges . . . [that] we’re going to work through,” Colbert told reporters ahead of the Paris Air Show.
“We’re still assessing launch dates,” he added. “They’ll come when we’re confident and the customer—NASA—is confident that we’re ready to go. But we are absolutely, positively committed to that program.”
Boeing and SpaceX received contracts in 2014 to develop space transportation systems to fly crews to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX is preparing for its seventh crew rotation mission for NASA this summer. The company also has flown three private Crew Dragon charters, with a fourth targeted to launch in late 2023.
Colbert said Boeing has invested “a ton” into its Starliner program and will invest more to see it through. Boeing is expected to see another charge on the Starliner program in the upcoming second-quarter earnings report, though Colbert said the company still is assessing its financial performance. “We made a commitment to NASA. We made a commitment to our country—and we know that we’ve got to have more than one crewed solution for space,” he said. “So we feel very confident about the people, technology and our products.”
Colbert told reporters that the second-quarter earnings will look like those of the first, which included a $212 million operational loss on $6.54 billion in revenue. The company is working through challenges on major firm, fixed-price development contracts as it looks ahead to growth in Europe and in its space business.
Overhauling Boeing’s defense programs has been a major task for Colbert, who took over the unit in the spring of 2022 (AW&ST June 5-18, p. 38). Last fall, he trimmed its eight business divisions down to four to streamline operations and oversight. For the major developmental programs, Colbert said Boeing is focused on addressing deficiencies and improving performance where needed.
The Starliner program is among Boeing’s fixed-price contracts operating in the red. The others are the KC-46 tanker, the T-7 trainer and the U.S. Navy’s uncrewed MQ-25 refueling tanker. Boeing still is investing in improving their performance because they are significant to the company. But Boeing has said it wants to avoid these types of contracts going forward to prevent a repeat of the losses.
“There was recognition that doing big, fixed-price development programs on very, very complex capabilities or capabilities that require a lot of maturity from either an engineering or manufacturing perspective can be very challenging,” Colbert said. “We are working hard with the acquisition community and the Pentagon to be smart about every next program that we have together.”
Boeing’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract with NASA, which covers an uncrewed and crewed flight test and six ISS crew rotation missions, was valued at $4.42 billion as of April 30. Boeing conducted a successful uncrewed Starliner flight test to the ISS in May 2022. Its first attempt to reach the station in December 2019 failed due to software and communications problems.
Under terms of the firm, fixed-priced contract with NASA, Boeing bears the costs for Starliner repairs and modifications, which had added $883 million to its bill as of October 2022.
SpaceX’s contract with NASA, valued at $4.9 billion as of April 30, covers two flight tests—the uncrewed Demo-1 in March 2019 and the crewed Demo-2 in May-August 2020—and 14 ISS crew rotation missions.
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