Unmanned return of Starliner points to quality issues

When United States astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted into space aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule in early June, they expected their trip to last only a week.

However, three months down the line, Starliner undocked from the International Space Station and landed in New Mexico on Saturday minus the two astronauts, who remain stranded in space, because NASA deemed the Starliner's problems with its thrusters too fraught with risk for a crewed return.

Despite Starliner's safe return, NASA's commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said the decision not to have the astronauts on board during the craft's journey back to earth was the right one.

"The Starliner's successful return seems like pure luck, as the issues it encountered could not be replicated on earth for a solution," said Lin Luzhou, assistant professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University's Academy of Regional and Global Governance.

"It points to problems in quality management, an area where Boeing used to excel," he added.

Despite the successful docking in early June and its uneventful return, Starliner has faced persistent issues, including a failed unmanned test trip to the ISS in 2019. A do-over mission in 2022 went ahead but some thruster malfunctions remained.

"Boeing is shifting away from being the crown jewel of US manufacturing. In recent years, it has prioritized profit over quality," Ding Yifan, a senior fellow at Taihe Institute, a think tank in Beijing, said.

"Cost-cutting measures, like outsourcing key components, have further compromised standards," he said.

The crashes of two Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019, in Indonesia and Ethiopia, killed 346. The company faced another blow when a door plug blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

"It shows a broader decline in US manufacturing capabilities," he added.

Following its launch, Starliner reported helium leaks and thruster problems, extending the space mission multiple times, before NASA announced in August that the astronauts will only come back in February on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

"NASA's decision to ultimately rely on the Dragon spacecraft must have come after extensive technical evaluations. However, the issues won't be resolved in just a couple of months," Lin of the Academy of Regional and Global Governance said.

"Space missions, particularly those involving the International Space Station, require meticulous planning and multilateral coordination," he added.

"It is an image issue. SpaceX's space program has indirectly benefited from NASA's budget cuts over the years, which led to the outsourcing of projects and the lay-offs of NASA engineers — many of whom ended up working for Elon Musk," Ding of Taihe Institute said.

Boeing has a long history of working with NASA. Apollo 11, which was propelled by a Boeing-built rocket, landed on the moon in 1969. "Previously, ample funding supported US technological advancements. However, the focus has now turned to more profitable ventures and space exploration receives less support," Ding said.

"Additionally, military-industrial complexes have shifted federal budget priorities, further reducing NASA's funding and diminishing its role."

Boeing incurred about $1.6 billion in cost overruns while developing the Starliner, facing repeated delays and price increases due to supply chain issues, Agence France-Presse reported.

"The current model for commercial space exploration undoubtedly starts with significant investment in research, which is no longer sustainable under incumbent financing mode," Lin said.

According to Ding, US public finances have become increasingly strained, with growing debt leaving less room for discretionary spending. The gross federal debt of the US has surpassed $35.3 trillion, US Treasury Department data showed.

NASA's budget peaked during the Apollo program in the 1960s, at more than 4.4 percent of the US federal budget, according to the Space Report website. It fell below 1 percent after 1993 and has hovered around 0.5 percent in recent years.

"When the government budget is primarily allocated to debt repayment and military expenses, public funding for space exploration — an area that isn't immediately profitable — diminishes," Ding said.

However, despite the constraints, Lin said we are witnessing a second major wave of human space exploration since the Apollo program, with commercial space ventures booming globally.

"Both established players, as well as newcomers, are undergoing significant transformations, which will bring both opportunities and challenges," he said, adding that the key question is whether they can secure a competitive edge in the evolving space industry.