31 July 2024

PAYLOAD RESEARCH: Boeing’s Starliner has cost at least twice as much as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon

Boeing has some work to do to find a long-term fix for safety issues on future Starliner missions


Boeing’s Starliner has cost at least twice as much as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon
"Risk remains that we may record additional losses in future periods."
Stephen Clark - 7/31/2024, 5:27 PM
Boeing's Starliner has cost at least twice as much as SpaceX's Crew Dragon  | Ars Technica

Boeing's Starliner has cost at least twice as much as SpaceX's Crew Dragon | Ars Technica


Boeing announced another financial charge Wednesday for its troubled Starliner commercial crew program, bringing the company's total losses on Starliner to $1.6 billion.

In its quarterly earnings report, Boeing registered a $125 million loss on the Starliner program, blaming delays on the spacecraft's still-ongoing Crew Flight Test, the program's first mission to carry astronauts into orbit. 
This is not the first time Boeing has reported a financial loss on Starliner. 
Including the new charge announced Wednesday, Boeing has now suffered an overall loss on the program of nearly $1.6 billion since 2016.

These losses have generally been caused by schedule delays and additional work to solve problems on Starliner. When NASA awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion contract to complete development of the Starliner spacecraft a decade ago, the aerospace contractor projected the capsule would be ready to fly astronauts by the end of 2017.
It turns out the Crew Flight Test didn't launch until June 5, 2024.

In a separate announcement Wednesday, Boeing named Kelly Ortberg as the company’s CEO, effective August 8. He will replace Dave Calhoun, whose tenure as Boeing’s chief executive was marred by scandals with the 737 MAX passenger airplane. Ortberg was previously CEO of Rockwell Collins, now known as Collins Aerospace, a major supplier of avionics and other parts for the aerospace industry.

Boeing is on the hook
When NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX to develop the Starliner and Crew Dragon spacecraft for astronaut missions, the agency signed fixed-price agreements with each contractor. These fixed-price contracts mean the contractors, not the government, are responsible for paying for cost overruns. . . .

Elon Musk Finally Revealed Why Boeing Starliner FAILED: NASA Fixed  Contracts?
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