The recent return of Crew-9 from the ISS using SpaceX's Crew Dragon has brought attention to the troubled CST-100 Starliner from Boeing. Despite its first crewed test flight with Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore successfully reaching the ISS, significant issues arose, particularly with the thrusters. Following this, Starliner returned to Earth without a crew, leaving its future uncertain. NASA's commercial crew program manager emphasized Boeing's CEO commitment to Starliner, but ongoing technical challenges and over $2 billion in losses complicate its path forward, especially as SpaceX has already achieved multiple successful crewed missions.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore had journeyed to the ISS on board the Boeing Starliner as part of the vehicle's first crewed test flight. It did not go well.
Boeing has incurred enormous losses due to Starliner's difficulties. As of February's financial results, the company has bled over $2 billion, which is unlikely to stop until the spacecraft finally becomes operational.
Things did not pan out so well for Boeing. It managed the first launch of the CST-100 Starliner in 2019 - without a crew - but it went badly wrong.
During the post-splashdown news conference for Crew-9, the manager of NASA's commercial crew program, Steve Stich, said that Boeing's new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, remained "committed to Starliner."
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