Boeing’s Starliner astronauts might want to phone home. Or tell Scotty to beam them up.That’s because they likely won’t be making their way home on a Boeing spacecraft anytime soon.After being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than 63 days and counting, NASA said test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may not be leaving for at least another six months.That’s when rival SpaceX is expected to send its Space Dragon craft to the ISS. On Wednesday, NASA officials strongly suggested — over objections from Boeing — that it is inclined to have its crew hitch a ride on Elon Musk’s experimental spacecraft..That means what was supposed to be a two-week stint will likely be stretched into February.Technicians have been unable to fix a series of helium leaks in the propulsion system. Although Boeing insists the Starliner is safe to fly, in a technical briefing on Wednesday, NASA officials said it is more inclined to send it back to Earth unmanned. The irony is that Boeing is in a competition with SpaceX to gain a contract to ferry NASA astronauts back and forth from the ISS — something SpaceX has managed to do without incident.Meanwhile, Boeing has lost USD$1.6 billion on the Starliner program while NASA has sunk another $6.7 billion into the program since 2010..Boeing’s space woes mirror problems with its terrestrial aircraft fleet, which has been embroiled in controversy for for several years after its passenger jets continue to experience multiple — and distinct — failures including two crashes of 737 Max planes.Meanwhile, the company on Thursday announced that Robert ‘Kelly’ Ortberg has taken the reigns as the company’s new CEO where he is scheduled to tour the company’s Renton, WA plant outside Seattle that makes the 737 Max.The 64-year old Ortberg is being touted as a company ‘outsider’ tasked with turning the ailing company— the largest exporter in the US — around.“I can’t tell you how proud and excited I am to be a member of the Boeing team,” he said in a note to staff on Thursday. “While we clearly have a lot of work to do in restoring trust, I’m confident that working together, we will return the company to be the industry leader we all expect.”“I will be transparent with you every step of the way, sharing news on progress as well as where we must do things better.”.It comes as the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday opened a hearing to review the Federal aviation Authority’s (FAA) oversight of January’s Alaska Airlines incident that saw a door plug come off a 737 Max in mid-flight.The review is expected to go into January of next year.
Boeing’s Starliner astronauts might want to phone home. Or tell Scotty to beam them up.That’s because they likely won’t be making their way home on a Boeing spacecraft anytime soon.After being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than 63 days and counting, NASA said test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may not be leaving for at least another six months.That’s when rival SpaceX is expected to send its Space Dragon craft to the ISS. On Wednesday, NASA officials strongly suggested — over objections from Boeing — that it is inclined to have its crew hitch a ride on Elon Musk’s experimental spacecraft..That means what was supposed to be a two-week stint will likely be stretched into February.Technicians have been unable to fix a series of helium leaks in the propulsion system. Although Boeing insists the Starliner is safe to fly, in a technical briefing on Wednesday, NASA officials said it is more inclined to send it back to Earth unmanned. The irony is that Boeing is in a competition with SpaceX to gain a contract to ferry NASA astronauts back and forth from the ISS — something SpaceX has managed to do without incident.Meanwhile, Boeing has lost USD$1.6 billion on the Starliner program while NASA has sunk another $6.7 billion into the program since 2010..Boeing’s space woes mirror problems with its terrestrial aircraft fleet, which has been embroiled in controversy for for several years after its passenger jets continue to experience multiple — and distinct — failures including two crashes of 737 Max planes.Meanwhile, the company on Thursday announced that Robert ‘Kelly’ Ortberg has taken the reigns as the company’s new CEO where he is scheduled to tour the company’s Renton, WA plant outside Seattle that makes the 737 Max.The 64-year old Ortberg is being touted as a company ‘outsider’ tasked with turning the ailing company— the largest exporter in the US — around.“I can’t tell you how proud and excited I am to be a member of the Boeing team,” he said in a note to staff on Thursday. “While we clearly have a lot of work to do in restoring trust, I’m confident that working together, we will return the company to be the industry leader we all expect.”“I will be transparent with you every step of the way, sharing news on progress as well as where we must do things better.”.It comes as the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday opened a hearing to review the Federal aviation Authority’s (FAA) oversight of January’s Alaska Airlines incident that saw a door plug come off a 737 Max in mid-flight.The review is expected to go into January of next year.
