Boeing remains silent amid speculation about cracks in Starliner, but NASA is hopeful of its commitment: What we know so far

Boeing has been silent ever since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to return the Starliner to Earth without its crew members.

The absence of Boeing officials at a press conference held after the Starliner landed on Earth on September 7 fueled speculation about a rift between NASA and Boeing.

The US space agency and the aerospace company joined hands for the first crewed flight of Starliner into space. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore became the first people to fly on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore launched into space on June 5 on Starliner's Calypso spacecraft. They arrived at the International Space Station on June 6.

Both were supposed to return to Earth on the Starliner in a few days. But their return was delayed after technical problems related to helium leak were found in the Starliner.

To ensure the safety of the two NASA astronauts, the US space agency decided to bring the Starliner back empty on September 6. He further said that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will spend eight months in space and return home in February 2025 on a SpaceX spacecraft.

Speculation of rift between NASA and Boeing

The absence of Boeing officials at recent NASA press briefings fueled speculation of a rift between the two sides. Sources told the New York Post that meetings between the two sides often resulted in shouting and arguing.

NASA had previously confirmed that there were “differences” with Boeing while discussing the return plan for the Starliner and its astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.

“Boeing was confident in the model they built that tried to predict thruster degradation over the remainder of the flight…” Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, said during a September 4 press conference.[but] The NASA team was not comfortable with this because of the uncertainty in the modeling.”

“…the teams were very divided…and [due to the] Uncertainty regarding thrusters… NASA team decided to send Butch and Suni back [SpaceX] Dragon,” Steve Stich said.

When asked if there was a “heated debate” or “almost a brawl” between the NASA and Boeing teams during the meeting, Stich said, “…I wouldn't call it heated…Anytime you're in a meeting of this scale where a decision like this is made, there's some tension in the room.”

Meanwhile, International Space Station manager Dana Weigel clarified Boeing's position, saying Boeing is “in a different position in terms of our understanding of the risks and the features that are available to us without Starliner.”

Boeing silent amid Starliner controversy?

Boeing officials have made limited public comments about the company's Starliner spacecraft over the past few weeks. Boeing representatives last participated in a news briefing about the Starliner mission on July 25. NASA announced its decision to send Starliner back to Earth without a crew on August 24.

Boeing representatives did not attend the Starliner's post-landing briefing. According to reports, they were initially scheduled to do so. They claimed that NASA's public advisory included the names of two Boeing officials who were to attend the post-landing press conference held on September 7.

Eric Berger, a senior editor at Ars Technica who was at the event, wrote on X that two chairs were removed from the stage shortly before the briefing began. “It appears to be a last minute change as five chairs were set up at the news conference held here at the JSC,” he said. [Johnson Space Center in Houston]And they just removed two seats.”

'Boeing is committed…'

“We talked to Boeing before this. They called on NASA to represent the mission,” Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, said Sept. 7 when asked about the absence of Boeing officials at the press conference.

Montalbano said Boeing managers congratulated the team after the Starliner landed on Earth. “They came into the control room and talked to the NASA team… Boeing is committed to continuing to work with us,” he said.

Montalbano said Boeing has important work to do for NASA's space station program, commercial crew program and Space Launch System program. “Their work is critical to the success of all three programs,” he said.

Instead of appearing at the post-landing briefing, Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing's Commercial Crew Program, released a brief statement on the company's website.

“I want to commend the work done by the Starliner teams to ensure a successful and safe undocking, deorbit, re-entry and landing,” Mark Nappe said. “We will review the data and determine next steps for the program.”

Meanwhile, astronaut Butch Wilmore said in a recent interaction with the media that both NASA and Boeing agree with the changes needed to get the Starliner back on track.

“We have learned lessons, which we will follow. We will discuss with NASA and Boeing about what changes need to be made to get Starliner back on track,” he said, adding that things that need to change will change. “…When you have problems like we have, some changes need to be made… Boeing is ready for that. We are all ready for that,” Wilmore said Friday.

Boeing has not yet issued a response or statement on the ongoing speculation about the differences with NASA and the change in public visibility.