Some companies are “too big to fail,” but Boeing apparently isn’t one of them. The company is struggling. Kelly Ortberg, the company’s new CEO, is purportedly working to stem the losses by selling off assets from its historic aerospace division, including the troubled Starliner spacecraft.
Rumors of a Boeing Space sale. According to The Wall Street Journal, Boeing is exploring the option of selling or downsizing parts of its space division, including the CST-100 Starliner program and operations related to the International Space Station (ISS). Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is reportedly interested in acquiring some of these assets.
Ortberg didn’t confirm these rumors, but his comments during a call with analysts were telling: “We’re better off doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well. What do we want this company to look like five and 10 years from now? And do these things add value to the company or distract us?”
A cash drain called Starliner. According to Reuters, Boeing has lost more than $1.8 billion due to cost overruns on the Starliner spacecraft. The fixed-price contract with NASA has compounded delays and internal development issues for the capsule.
To make matters worse, costs continue to rise. Starliner failed its first crewed test and returned empty from the ISS, leaving two astronauts reliant on SpaceX. Recently, NASA cancelled Starliner’s first operational flight, originally scheduled for February 2025, opting instead for SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission.
With the ISS nearing the end of its life—it’s scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030—Starliner’s service time is limited, casting serious doubt on the project’s viability. Of the six trips NASA contracted, only three may be possible before the ISS’ end.
The SLS isn’t for sale. The Journal and Reuters report that Boeing will retain its stake in the Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket NASA plans to use for future Artemis lunar missions.
However, the SLS is no stranger to public scrutiny due to its staggering cost overruns. According to the Office of Inspector General, the SLS could exceed 1,228% of the original budget—all of which will be borne by NASA.
Each launch of the giant expendable rocket costs approximately $4.1 billion. Even though the first flight was successful, delays with the launch tower and the second version of the rocket jeopardize future launches. This situation is particularly precarious if SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gains the authority he’s looking for to cut government spending under a second Trump presidency.
Boeing has struggled to keep pace with the competition. As a historic contractor for NASA and the Pentagon, Boeing has played a crucial role in missions such as the Apollo program and the construction and operation of the U.S. segment of the ISS.
In response to SpaceX’s dominance in space launches, Boeing and Lockheed Martin formed United Launch Alliance (ULA) to compete. However, ULA has long been considered for sale. Now, it looks like the Starliner commercial spacecraft, Boeing’s alternative to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon for launching astronauts from U.S. soil, is also on the market.
Image | NASA
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