Boeing Told to Fly Its Own Spacecraft After $4.2 Billion Investment
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has called on Boeing to put its Starliner spacecraft to work ferrying astronauts, suggesting that SpaceX will continue flying its Crew Dragon capsule in the meantime. In an interview, Shotwell noted that NASA had paid Boeing a total of $4.2 billion to develop Starliner, which is still not certified for operational crew flights.
The only crewed flight of Starliner, in June 2024, was supposed to last about eight days but ended with the capsule returning home empty due to helium leaks and thruster failures.
Shotwell also stated that SpaceX is not planning to retire Crew Dragon anytime soon, saying 'We're not retiring it today, for sure.' The company has flown regular crew rotations since 2020 and received additional missions. Starliner, on the other hand, will need to undergo further testing before it can be certified for human rating.