Boeing Is Still Committed to Starliner Launch, Says CEO

Boeing isn't giving up on its first crewed Starliner mission.

Company president and CEO Dave Calhoun recently stated that Boeing isn't shutting its doors on Starliner despite the indefinite delay it is facing due to numerous issues it found a month before its first crewed launch.

Boeing is still unsure when its first crewed Starliner mission will launch into space, considering the work it is doing to rectify the issues the spacecraft has.

Boeing Starliner Mission Plan Details

Calhoun stated in an interview on Aviation Week's "Check6" podcast, which was published on June 16, that Boeing is not shutting its doors on its Starliner spacecraft and the first crewed mission it was supposed to go on in early June.

He said that Boeing believes in the Starliner spacecraft and mission and that it will do whatever NASA asks it to do when asked about the program at the tail end of the podcast.

Regardless, he did acknowledge that Boeing has fallen behind in its efforts on Starliner compared to the work SpaceX does on its Dragon spacecraft. Calhoun added that they at Boeing think they know what they're doing technically and that, ultimately, Boeing will demonstrate it with every successful launch.

Whether Clahoun means Starliner's launch is unclear. According to Space News, Boeing has been having internal talks about the spacecraft's future and how it will move forward with it, according to a statement from Starliner program manager and vice president Mark Nappi.

He clarified that meant long-term evaluations about building another spacecraft and shifting from the Atlas 5. Despite Starliner's issues, Nappi revealed that there had not been "serious discussions" about terminating the program in the company's internal talks.

When Will Starliner Launch?

As of press time, neither NASA nor Boeing provided an update on whether it had fixed the issues that prevented Starliner from being given the go-signal to launch on its first crewed mission. You may recall that the spacecraft's parachutes used "soft links" on their suspension lines, which have a failure load limit lower than previously thought, preventing them from handling Starliner's load should one fail during re-entry.

Similarly, its internal wiring is protected with lengths of flammable adhesive tape, which will become a hazard during launch and re-entry into Earth.

Ken Bowersox, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, said at a June 8 Space Transportation Association event that Boeing and NASA want to make sure Starliner launches when it's ready.

Boeing is one of two commercial companies NASA picked to fly astronauts to and from the ISS through the space agency's multibillion-dollar fixed-cost contracts in its Commercial Crew Program. As such, the company is likely responsible for any additional costs due to the delays of its crewed launch; it already incurred $900 million in expenses and charges against its earnings for the program from past problems and delays.

Despite that, Calhoun said Boeing intends to make money on it despite its expenses, but the company has to "let the market and our customer let that play out, and we'll see what happens."