Summary and Key Points: Boeing's struggles continue as its Starliner spacecraft, meant to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), has failed to perform reliably, leaving a crew stranded for eight months.

-Plagued by issues like helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, the Starliner has prompted NASA to turn to SpaceX for a rescue mission.

-Boeing, once a leader in aerospace, has been criticized for its inability to innovate, leading to calls for a federal investigation and a potential breakup of the company.

-Meanwhile, SpaceX's success on a smaller budget highlights the need for a shift in how the U.S. approaches space exploration.

Boeing’s Starliner Stumbles: A SpaceX Lifeline for NASA

Boeing is a troubled aerospace firm. The reasons for this are legion. Now, the legendary firm has failed to build a reliable spacecraft to ferry astronauts to-and-from the International Space Station (ISS). 

It’s so bad for Boeing that NASA (through gritted teeth, of course), has had to turn to Elon Musk and his private space start-up, SpaceX, to fix a massive Boeing failure.

The Situation

A crew of astronauts has been stranded on the ISS since June. They were the first crewed mission to be sent aboard Boeing’s new spacecraft, the Starliner. The astronauts were supposed to be on the station for eight days. 

Instead, these poor astronauts will be kept in orbit for an astonishing eight months. NASA refuses to allow the crew to return home aboard the Boeing Starliner currently docked at the station. 

This is because of a cascading set of glitches that have compromised the integrity of the Starliner and led NASA scientists to fear the crew could be killed on their return journey to Earth.

For example, the Starliner capsule has suffered helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, the latter of which is an outgrowth of a larger problem that Boeing’s engineers were having with the spacecraft’s propulsion systems. Understandably, these malfunctions have irritated the public.

The United States (and by extension, its premier aerospace firms, such as Boeing) was once the undisputed master of manned spaceflight operations. That capability eroded when the Obama administration foolishly canceled the space shuttle program with no viable replacement available. Luckily, private space startups, notably SpaceX, made up the difference in the wake of the space shuttle program’s cancellation. 

Yet, the U.S. government insists on relying on bigger firms like Boeing. 

Boeing Has Problems

Boeing is clearly not up to the task. Firms like Boeing increasingly resemble the great Soviet design bureaus as they existed in the final decade of the Soviet Union. These firms are insulated from any real competition. They are given preferential treatment by the political class. As a result, they lose innovative capacity. Over time, failure to innovate dulls the firm’s competitive edge and erodes its competence. 

After all, the Starliner’s failures in space were preceded by massive delays and technological setbacks during its design. Boeing was awarded a $4.2 billion contract by NASA in 2014 under the Commercial Crew Program. The Obama administration envisioned Starliner as the cornerstone of a new age of commercial spaceflight. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon was a counterpart.

But it was SpaceX’s manned spacecraft that has outstripped all expectations. This, despite the fact that SpaceX operates on a relative shoestring budget compared to the kind of funding that is lavished upon Boeing by the U.S. government. Boeing, of course, promised the moon, metaphorically and literally, to the government. 

They got paid and subsequently under-delivered. 

Boeing’s Starliner: An Overhyped Travesty 

Starliner was designed with several advanced features, such as wireless internet connectivity, a state-of-the-art docking system that seamlessly integrated with the ISS, and an affordable reusability that would allow for the spaceship to fly up to 10 missions. 

The Starliner was delayed for years, finally getting its first uncrewed test flight in 2019. That mission revealed serious software issues, resulting in greater delays. 

If Starliner ever worked as promised, it would have been the most advanced spacecraft developed. 

As for Starliner’s much-ballyhooed state-of-the-art docking system: apparently the spacecraft cannot undock autonomously, meaning that the massively expensive spaceship could be lost entirely if it is not flown back by a human crew. It is a total mess.

SpaceX is the Way

Now for the good news: Boeing is about to have its big rear-end saved by tiny SpaceX. NASA will be sending a SpaceX spacecraft to retrieve the astronauts in early 2025. The most recent experience of Boeing’s abject failure should not go unnoticed by regulators of the firm.

It is now time for Congress and the federal government to initiate an investigation into the multiple problems of the once-legendary aerospace firm. Indeed, it is now time to break Boeing apart into its constituent components to revitalize the firm’s innovation and make it more competitive globally.

America finds itself in a new space race, this time with multiple actor, especially China and their newfound besties, Russia. America will need every resource at its disposal to compete in this new space race. Blowing through limited resources by favoring underperforming contractors who ultimately overcharge is not the way forward. The SpaceX startup model is the way forward. After all, SpaceX is basically keeping the U.S. in the current space race.  

Author Experience and Expertise: Brandon J. Weichert

Brandon J. Weichert, a National Interest national security analyst, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, the Asia Times, and The-Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, is due October 22 from Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.

All images on page Shutterstock. Main image is a generic cruise missile image. 

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