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SpaceX president to Boeing: You got paid — now fly the thing
As early as next week, NASA will announce plans to order two more crewed Starliner missions from Boeing, cover part of the cost to fix thrusters, and provide support to certify the spacecraft's launch on a new rocket.
Starliner experienced numerous issues on test flights in 2019 and 2022; thruster malfunctions nearly caused the loss of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore during the June 2024 crew test flight.
NASA has paid Boeing $5.1 billion for development compared to approximately $3.1 billion for SpaceX; SpaceX President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell noted, "They should fly their capsule. The government paid a lot of money for that."
Starliner currently launches aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket, but ULA plans to retire the booster after expending the six remaining units in its inventory, all assigned to Starliner missions.
NASA needs a dependable way for astronauts to reach orbital outposts before the International Space Station retires around 2030, making commercial partner support critical despite the spacecraft's "Type A" mishap classification.