Boeing Has Spent $2 Billion On The Starliner Debacle As Musk's SpaceX Set To Rescue The Stranded Astronauts

Boeing’s BA Starliner program has turned into a costly and embarrassing failure. The aerospace giant has spent more than $2 billion on the troubled spacecraft, including $523 million in charges just in 2024, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

This financial catastrophe is the result of numerous delays, technical malfunctions, and growing testing and certification expenses. NASA and Boeing originally agreed to a $4.2 billion contract for the development of Starliner, but due to ongoing failures and significant overruns, the program is now among the most costly commercial space missions in history.

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Boeing's $2 Billion Problem

The Starliner program has been plagued with delays, technical failures, and massive cost overruns. The spacecraft was supposed to be NASA's second option for sending astronauts to and from the International Space Station, alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon. But since its first crewed test flight in June, the Starliner has faced thruster malfunctions, helium leaks, and other serious issues.

These problems meant Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams couldn't return home on Starliner as planned. NASA had to send the spacecraft back to Earth uncrewed and later announced that the astronauts would return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon instead. Boeing had already taken multiple financial hits on the project, including a $489 million charge in 2019 and now another $523 million in 2024, further driving up the total losses.

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Musk and Trump Stir Up Controversy

The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.

Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2025

Despite NASA making this decision months ago, Elon Musk and Donald Trump made headlines by claiming that the astronauts were “stranded.” Musk posted on X that SpaceX would rescue the astronauts after Trump asked him to step in. Trump went even further on his social media, saying the Biden administration had “abandoned” Wilmore and Williams in space.

This claim caught many by surprise because NASA had already arranged for SpaceX to bring them back as part of its Crew-9 mission, which launched in September with two empty seats specifically for their return. Despite NASA’s repeated assurances that the astronauts were never stranded and always had a way home, Musk’s remarks caused confusion.

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Politics and Space Contracts

Trump’s remarks and Musk’s involvement may have detrimental effects on Boeing. Trump's administration seems keen on shifting more NASA contracts toward SpaceX. He has even nominated Jared Isaacman, a SpaceX ally and private astronaut, to lead NASA. This move could signal a big shift away from Boeing and toward Musk's company for future space missions.

Boeing, already struggling with commercial jet issues and financial losses, now faces an uncertain future in the space sector. Some analysts speculate that Boeing may exit the Starliner program altogether, especially as the ISS is set to be retired within the next five years. There were even reports that Boeing was considering selling its entire space division last year. 

For now, Wilmore and Williams remain on the ISS, where they've been for over seven months—far longer than their planned one-week mission. They have continued working on ISS maintenance and spacewalks while awaiting their return.

NASA has confirmed that Crew-9 will bring them home in March or April, once Crew-10 arrives to replace them.

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