Despite helping NASA first reach the Moon in 1969, Boeing could be tapping out of NASA’s upcoming return to the lunar surface and space entirely. The aerospace giant is considering selling its space division amid its struggles to get the Starliner certified to fly. The spacecraft’s fault-riddled crewed test flight stranded two astronauts in space into next year and scrapped its use in upcoming missions for the foreseeable future.
Boeing is juggling its space crisis with several others that are impacting its core commercial airliner business. In the aftermath of the 737 Max door plug blowout in January, Boeing’s production quality faced unprecedented scrutiny from federal regulators. The Department of Justice deemed that Boeing violated its 2021 settlement for the 737 Max’s two fatal crashes, forcing the planemaker to pay nearly $700 million. Boeing was also forced to spend $4.7 billion in July to acquire Spirit AeroSystems, a vital 737 Max contractor once part of the manufacturer.
The Boeing Starliner cost the company $250 million last quarter, adding to $1.8 billion in program overruns, according to Simple Flying. These losses are compounded by over 33,000 Boeing machinists going on strike for more reasonable compensation. The ongoing strike began in September and halted production on 737, 767 and 777 planes, costing Boeing billions.
With the catastrophic condition of Boeing, Dave Calhoun stepped down as the company’s CEO in August. Kelly Ortberg is now at the helm with the task of fixing basically everything. He told the Wall Street Journal that he’s willing to sell off as much of Boeing as possible to right the ship:
Ortberg, who took over as Boeing CEO in August, said he was weighing asset sales and looking to jettison problematic programs. Beyond the core commercial and defense businesses, he said, most everything is on the table.
“We’re better off doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well,” Ortberg said in a call this week with analysts. “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?”
Ortberg also confirmed that Boeing is in discussions with Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ private space company, for a potential sale of its space division. Both companies are NASA contractors for the Artemis program and collaborate with rocket development. The sale would make Blue Origin a more competitive rival to SpaceX overnight. It would also mark the end of Boeing’s legacy in space, from being a vital Apollo program partner to building the American core of the International Space Station.