Boeing’s Starliner Fiasco Has Now Burned Through $2 Billion

Nearly five month after an uncrewed Starliner undock from the International Space Station ( ISS ) , Boeing announce that it lost an additional half a billion dollar from its turbulent spacecraft as the destiny of its contract with NASA remains unclear .

In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday , Boeingreporteda total of $ 523 million in losses from the Starliner Commercial Crew Program in 2024 . That brings the full amount of going from the ominous - fatten up program to a whopping $ 2 billion in toll overruns . Boeing cited “ extremely complex designs and technical challenge , ” as well as “ schedule time lag and monetary value impacts , ” that increased the monetary value estimate for its programme .

Boeing’sCST-100 Starliner found on June 5 , 2024 , post NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams for the spacecraft ’s first crew test flight to the ISS , but the spacecraft had a voiceless time reaching the ISS . As it creep nigher to the orbital lab , five of the Starliner ’s thruster failedand the spacecraft developedfive helium making water , one of which was identified prior to liftoff .

Boeing’s Starliner performed an uncrewed undocking from the ISS in September 2024.

Boeing’s Starliner performed an uncrewed undocking from the ISS in September 2024.NASA

The spacecraft remained docked to the space station for three calendar month as teams on the ground debated whether it was safe to return the crew on board Starliner . Mission teams eventually decided toreturn an uncrewed Starlinerand institute back the two astronauts on board SpaceX ’s Dragon spacecraft . Thespacecraft undocked from the ISS on September 6 , leaving the two astronauts behind .

presently after Starliner ’s uncrewed return , NASA put a hold on the Boeing spacecraft ’s upcoming trip to the ISS . or else , the space agency announced that SpaceX ’s Crew Dragon will launch its Crew-10 mission in March , followed by the Crew-11 delegation no in the beginning than July , delaying Boeing ’s CST-100 Starliner ’s next chance at flying to the ISS .

With no easy way forward , it would make mother wit for Boeing to cut its ( really hefty ) loss and trade its Starliner programme . Regardless , NASA will have to continue swear on a single launch supplier , SpaceX , for the foreseeable future tense — a scenario it explicitly hoped to avoid with the dual Commercial Crew contract awarded in 2014 .

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