Boeing Stays Silent on Starliner Flaw Speculation, But NASA Hopes Its Commitment Will Be Honored: What We Know So Far

Boeing has been silent since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to return Starliner to Earth without its crew.

The absence of Boeing officials at the press conference held after Starliner landed on Earth on September 7 fueled speculation about a rift between NASA and Boeing.

The US space agency and the aerospace company have joined forces to make Starliner’s first manned flight into space. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore became the first to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Starliner’s Calypso spacecraft on June 5. They reached the International Space Station on June 6.

The duo were supposed to return to Earth aboard Starliner in a few days. However, their return was delayed after Starliner was detected with technical issues involving helium leaks.

To ensure the safety of the two NASA astronauts, the American space agency decided to return Starliner empty on September 6. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will spend eight months in space before returning aboard a SpaceX ship in February 2025.

Speculation over NASA-Boeing split

The absence of Boeing executives from recent NASA press conferences has fueled speculation about a rift between the two sides. Sources told the New York Post that meetings between the two sides often degenerate into shouting and arguments.

NASA had previously confirmed that it had a “difference of opinion” with Boeing in a discussion over the plan to return Starliner and its astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.

Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said at a Sept. 4 news conference: “Boeing believed in the model they created to try to predict the degradation of the thrusters for the remainder of the flight … (but) the NASA team, because of the uncertainty in the modeling, couldn’t get it right.”

“…the teams were very divided…and (because of) the uncertainty about the propellant…the NASA team chose to send Butch and Suni back to (SpaceX) Dragon,” Stich said.

Asked if there was “heated discussion” or “almost a shouting match” between the NASA and Boeing teams during the meeting, Stitch said: “…I wouldn’t call it heated…any time you’re in a meeting of this magnitude where there’s this kind of decision, there’s a certain amount of tension in the room.”

Meanwhile, Dana Weigel, head of the International Space Station, explained Boeing’s perspective, saying Boeing “is in a little bit of a different position in terms of understanding the risks and what’s available to us without Starliner.”

Boeing silent amid Starliner saga?

Boeing officials have made limited public comments about the company’s Starliner spacecraft in recent weeks. Boeing representatives last participated in a press briefing about the Starliner mission on July 25. NASA announced its decision on Aug. 24 to return Starliner without a crew.

Boeing representatives did not attend the press conference following Starliner’s landing. According to reports, they were originally scheduled to attend. They claimed that a NASA public notice included the names of two Boeing officials who were scheduled to participate in the post-landing press conference on September 7.

Eric Berger, an Ars Technica editor who was at the event, wrote on X that two chairs were removed from the podium shortly before the briefing began. He said, “It appears to be a last-minute change because there were five chairs set up at the press conference here at JSC[Johnson Space Center in Houston]and they just removed two of them right now.”

“Boeing commits…”

Asked about the absence of Boeing officials at the news conference, Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s Space Mission Directorate, said Sept. 7: “We talked to Boeing before this. They let NASA represent the mission.”

Montalbano said Boeing executives congratulated the team on landing Starliner on Earth. “They came into the control room and talked to the NASA team … Boeing is committed to continuing to work with us,” he added.

Montalbano added that Boeing has critical work to do for NASA’s space station program, the commercial crew program and the Space Launch System program. “Their work is critical to the success of all three of these programs,” he said.

Instead of appearing at the post-landing briefing, Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and director of commercial crew programs, released a brief statement on the company’s website.

“I want to commend the work done by the Starliner teams to ensure a safe and successful undocking, deorbit, reentry and landing,” Nappi said. “We will review the data and determine the next steps for the program,” he added.

Meanwhile, astronaut Butch Willmore said in a recent media interaction that NASA and Boeing are “on board” with the changes needed to get Starliner back on track.

“We’ve learned lessons from what we’re going to put into practice. We’re going to talk to NASA and Boeing about what needs to change to get Starliner back on track.” He said the things that need to change will change. “…when you have problems like we’ve had, there are changes that need to be made…Boeing agrees with that. We all agree with that,” Wilmore said Friday.

Boeing has yet to respond or issue a statement on the ongoing speculation about its break with NASA and the change in its public profile.