Boeing's Starliner proves better at torching cash than reaching orbit

Starliner mission status and safety

• Commenters note Starliner successfully reached orbit and docked with ISS but has unresolved issues bringing astronauts back due to thruster and helium system problems.
• Some argue it can safely remain docked for its full 6‑month certification; helium leaks are said to be downstream of closed valves and currently inactive. Others worry long delays could worsen risk.
• There is concern about freeing the ISS docking port for an upcoming Crew‑9 Dragon mission, creating schedule pressure.

Rescue options and Dragon

• Several suggest returning the astronauts on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and sending Starliner back uncrewed.
• Counterpoints: there isn’t a spare Dragon “just up there”; the docked one is reserved for Crew‑8, and the next must stay for Crew‑9. An unmanned Crew Dragon launch is technically possible but expensive and would force crew-number tradeoffs.
• Some advocate billing Boeing for such a contingency.

Politics and optics

• Multiple comments fear political interference: leadership may delay decisions until after the U.S. election to avoid headlines tying failures to current officeholders.
• Others argue operational safety decisions are NASA’s domain and span multiple administrations, so pinning them on current political figures is misguided.

Boeing management and culture

• Starliner is treated as another symptom of Boeing’s broader decline: finance-driven leadership, short‑termism, and hostility or indifference toward engineering excellence.
• Discussion references earlier debacles (e.g., 787 Dreamliner overruns) and the post‑merger culture shift after McDonnell Douglas, emphasizing regulatory capture and rent‑seeking over technical competence.
• Some note that even engineer-CEOs presided over major failures, suggesting the root problem is prioritizing shareholder returns and cost cutting over safety and engineering, not degrees per se.

Comparisons: SpaceX, Airbus, and defense programs

• SpaceX is contrasted favorably: lower launch costs, reuse, and apparently more effective engineering culture.
• Airbus is seen as currently healthier than Boeing, though some think it could suffer similar “capitalism disease” later.
• A long subthread debates the F‑35:
  • Critics highlight high operating costs, low availability, parts shortages, delayed Block 4/TR3 upgrades, and political bloat.
  • Defenders stress stealth, combat performance, foreign demand, and its political/strategic role beyond pure engineering metrics.

Government spending, jobs programs, and large organizations

• Several frame Starliner, SLS, and Artemis as distorted “jobs programs” benefiting contractors, politicians, and NASA centers more than missions.
• Others argue Starliner’s total cost (~$6.7B over a decade, per the thread) is tiny relative to education/anti‑poverty budgets, so “fix Earth before space” arguments misuse scale.
• Broader reflections criticize U.S. corporate governance, political donations, consulting-driven waste, and incentive structures that reward image management over building reliable hardware.