Boeing’s Space Problems Extend Beyond Ill-Fated ‘Starliner’

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Our media outlet has been relentless in calling out crony capitalist aerospace giant Boeing for its chronic failures in the manufacture of passenger jets. To read our definitive piece on this company’s ongoing “culture fail” – including its origins and consequences – click here.

In recent weeks, Boeing’s shoddy workmanship and poor quality control have extended heavenward – at an ever-escalating cost to taxpayers.

The embarrassing failure of Boeing’s first crewed Starliner spacecraft mission has left two astronauts temporarily stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) – with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) struggling to come up with a plan to bring them home.

The issue: Five of the Starliner’s 28 maneuvering thrusters appear to have overheated and lost power two months ago when the spacecraft was approaching the ISS for docking. While four of those thrusters are back online, engineers aren’t sure what caused the problem – and aren’t sure those thrusters (and potentially others) won’t fail again in attempting to bring the two astronauts home.

***

The spacecraft – which is named Calypso – is also enduring helium leaks as it orbits above the earth docked to the ISS. Oh, and that’s not the full extent of the problem. As currently configured, the capsule cannot undock from the ISS without a crew member on board.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams – both veteran astronauts and former U.S. Navy aviators – launched on June 5, 2024 in the first crewed test flight of Starliner. This oft-delayed mission was supposed to certify the partially reusable capsule for “routine space travel” – and stop the hemorrhaging of red ink on Boeing’s books from this program.

Wilmore and Williams’ mission was only supposed to last nine days, but NASA is not allowing the vessel to return to earth with the astronauts on board until it knows more about the problems.

***

Starliner to the stars! ?

At 10:52am ET, @BoeingSpace #Starliner lifted off on a @ULALaunch Atlas V for the first time with @NASA_Astronauts aboard. This Crew Flight Test aims to certify the spacecraft for routine space travel to and from the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/WDQKOrE5B6

— NASA (@NASA) June 5, 2024

***

The alternative? Sending an undermanned SpaceX Dragon 2 capsule to ISS in September. That craft would carry Wilmore and Williams back to earth – but not until February 2025 at the conclusion of its mission. The SpaceX Dragon capsule – Freedom – was actually supposed to launch this month with a four-person crew but its mission has been delayed due to the problems with the Starliner capsule.

Eager to avoid the humiliation of having these two astronauts return to earth on a competitor’s capsule, Boeing is telling NASA – and the public – that Starliner is safe to fly.

Is it, though? According to Ars Technica‘s Stephen Clark, “the people in decision-making positions on the Starliner mission were all at NASA at the time of the Columbia accident.”

Two of them were flight directors on the STS-107 mission which ended on February 1, 2003 with the catastrophic breakup of the shuttle during reentry and the death of all seven astronauts aboard. In fact, one of the two flight directors – Steve Stich – is the NASA official who emailed the doomed crew about a week into their mission and assured them there was “absolutely no concern” for reentry in the aftermath of damage sustained to the shuttle during liftoff.

***

“This item is not even worth mentioning other than wanting to make sure that you are not surprised by it in a question from a reporter,” Stich wrote in an email to the late Rick Husband, Columbia‘s commander, and Willie McCool, its pilot.

Nine days later, Husband, McCool and the rest of their crew were dead.

The other Columbia flight director tasked with making this decision? He is currently employed by Boeing.

Boeing and NASA have shelled out $6.7 billion on Starliner since 2010. The program was supposed to put its first astronauts in orbit seven years ago. Conversely, NASA has paid SpaceX $3.1 billion for its successful Dragon program – which has launched thirteen crewed flights without incident.

While Boeing and NASA weigh their decision regarding Starliner, another Boeing project is facing similar quality control concerns. According to a report issued last Thursday (August 8, 2024) by NASA’s inspector general, Boeing’s work on the massive Space Launch System 1B – a key component of the agency’s planned manned lunar missions – has been plagued by delays, cost overruns and “ineffective quality management and (an) inexperienced workforce.”

***

RELATED | THE CASE AGAINST BOEING

***

A total of 71 “corrective action requests” were issued between 2021 and 2023 at Boeing’s rocket facility for “deficiencies in quality,” the report (.pdf) noted.

This was a “high number of (corrective requests) for a space flight system at this stage in development and reflects a recurring and degraded state of product quality control.”

“Boeing’s process to address deficiencies to date has been ineffective, and the company has generally been nonresponsive in taking corrective actions when the same quality control issues reoccur,” the report added.

Among the many issues, inspectors found “metal shavings, Teflon, and other debris on and underneath the entry platform and ladder assembly on the forward dome panels inside of the tank” of the launch system’s stage two liquid hydrogen fuel tank.

Sound familiar? It’s the Dreamliner mess all over again…

Here’s an idea: Until this company can get its act together, the federal government should not give Boeing any additional work. Like NASA, it is clearly “culturally challenged.”

***

UPDATE |

NASA taps SpaceX to return Starliner crew.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.