Boeing Looks To Offload Starliner Spacecraft, NASA Business As Troubles Mount: Report

Boeing Co BA is reportedly exploring selling its Starliner spacecraft as troubles mount at the aerospace manufacturer.

What Happened: Boeing is looking to sell its NASA business including Starliner and operations towards supporting the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the new company CEO’s efforts to reduce losses at the company, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter

However, the report said that the effort by Boeing is at an early stage and might not yield results or deals.

According to some of WSJ’s sources, Boeing is expected to keep its commercial and military satellite business in addition to its position overseeing the Space Launch System, a launch vehicle used by NASA.

The company also talked with billionaire Jeff Bezos‘ Blue Origin about taking over some of the NASA programs, as per the report.

Starliner's Struggles: Two astronauts launched to ISS on June 5 aboard Starliner. Though the two were supposed to return in about eight days, technical issues identified with the spacecraft while docking delayed the return journey, and the agency subsequently decided to scrap bringing the astronauts back on the Boeing spacecraft altogether.

The Starliner subsequently undocked from the ISS without crew in early September. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will now return with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Grubonov who went to the station as part of the Crew-9 mission in September.

NASA said earlier this month that it does not have a fixed timeline for Starliner’s next launch.

The timing and configuration of the spacecraft's next flight will be ascertained after considering lessons from its past crewed test flight and operational readiness, the agency said.

"Meanwhile, NASA is keeping options on the table for how best to achieve system certification, including windows of opportunity for a potential Starliner flight in 2025," the agency said.

Boeing’s Financials: In the third quarter alone, Boeing recorded a loss from operations of $2,384 million for the Defence, Space, and Security segment, as compared to the loss of $924 million recorded in the corresponding period last year.

The company’s overall adjusted operating loss, across multiple segments including its commercial airplane business, rose to $5,989 million, as compared to just $1,089 million in Q3 2023.

Boeing’s Space segment chief Ted Colbert left the company in September.

Price Action: Boeing’s stock edged lower on Friday to close at $155.01, down by 0.10%. Year-to-date, the company’s shares are down 38.43%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Photo courtesy: NASA