--- title: "Boeing Might Not Get Starliner Working Before the Space Station Is Destroyed" description: "NASA is planning to decommission the orbital outpost in 2030. Will Boeing's Starliner still make it there in time?" date: "2024-08-29" modified: "2024-08-29" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-starliner-working-before-space-station-destroyed" categories: - "Boeing" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "starliner" - "the digest" --- # Boeing Might Not Get Starliner Working Before the Space Station Is Destroyed ![NASA is planning to decommission the orbital outpost in 2030. Will Boeing's Starliner still make it there in time?]() *\Image: NASA / Futurism\* ## Clock Ticking Over the weekend, NASA [officially decided]() that it was too risky to return its two stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on board Boeing's plagued Starliner. The decision came as a massive blow to Boeing. After many years of development, the company still doesn't have a successful crewed test flight under its belt. And whether the much-maligned capsule will ever be able to deliver and safely return a crew to and from the International Space Station remains an open question. That's because NASA is already planning to [decommission the orbital outpost in 2030 with SpaceX's help](), giving Boeing roughly five years to get its act together — and it's already been around five years since the [company's failed uncrewed test flight](). "Boeing is going to need to grapple with the consequences of the failure of this mission to achieve its test objectives," space industry veteran Todd Harrison [told *NPR*](). ## Uphill Battle Instead of running out of time, Boeing may [dump its plagued spacecraft]() long before the ISS is taken out of orbit. Harrison told *NPR* that he thinks it's "fairly likely" that Boeing may choose to "step back" from Starliner "within a few weeks or months." "This program kind of sticks out as something that doesn't fit with the rest of their business," he added. Boeing has already [lost a staggering $1.6 billion]() on the development of Starliner. That's on top of [getting more than $4 billion]() worth of funding through NASA's Commercial Crew Program in 2014. Meanwhile, SpaceX has done far more with far less funding from the space agency, having completed just shy of a dozen crewed missions to the ISS. One way to look at the situation is that NASA would have been out of luck if it weren't for the fact that it signed up both SpaceX and Boeing to develop spacecraft. "If they had only selected one provider, it would have been Boeing, because SpaceX was the risky prospect at the time," space industry consultant Laura Forczyk [told *New Scientist*](). "So in a way, this is a triumph of the Commercial Crew Program." Boeing's Starliner has been docked at the station since early June, and NASA has yet to announce a date for its uncrewed return — a journey that [comes with its own risks](). It's also unclear when or if Starliner will fly again. As of right now, the company is seemingly keeping all of its options open. "Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft," a Boeing spokesperson told *Futurism* when asked if Starliner might get canceled. "We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return." **More on Starliner:** *[Starliner Is Such a Disaster That Boeing May Cancel the Entire Project]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()