By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
The Boeing Company, known to most of us simply as Boeing, is an American multi-national corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, missiles and now spacecraft.
Long considered a blue ribbon company in every respect, this aerospace giant based in the Seattle area expanded its empire some years ago when NASA selected it and SpaceX to build, own and operate spacecraft for transporting travelers to and from space.
Already feeling the heat from investors and airline safety experts because of manufacturing problems in its commercial airliners, Boeing took another one on the chin last week when its first astronaut mission ended in disgrace when an empty capsule landed safely but left two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station.
Adding to that monumental glitch was NASA’s announcement that the two pilots won’t be brought back to earth until next year because the Boeing “Starliner” was not considered safe for the return flight.
It seems the new Boeing spacecraft had a series of thruster failures and helium leaks enroute to the space station. However, the machine did land safely in the New Mexico desert on its return flight.
I can’t imagine the reactions of retired Navy test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams when the NASA brass informed them that their original six-day mission in space likely won’t end until next February.
Adding further shame on once-proud Boeing was NASA’s decision to bring the Americans back to earth in a spacecraft built and operated by their competitor, SpaceX. That company, of course, is part of Elon Musk’s conglomerate.
Boeing tried to put a happy face on the embarrassing situation by saying they agreed with NASA’s decision to return an unmanned spacecraft. What else could they say?
However, this is not Boeing’s first disaster in its space program. Its first test flight of Starliner in 2019 was unmanned and the troubled craft had to be re-engineered twice at a cost of more than $1 billion.
On the other hand, SpaceX had made nine successful flights to haul crew members to and from the space station without incident. NASA says it remains committed to having the two competing U.S. companies transport its astronauts. The goal is for SpaceX and Boeing to take turns launching crews — one a year per company for six more years.
At this point, I feel equally sorry for the stranded astronauts….and Boeing’s worried stockholders.Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
