Boeing faces struggle in space technology, just as company's problems with 737 MAX jet get sorted out
ST. LOUIS – The Boeing Co.'s engineering failures didn't begin or end with the 737 MAX passenger jet. Its once-dominant space program, which helped put Americans on the moon five decades ago, also has had a struggle. Fox Business reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
2 Feb. 2021 -- The company's biggest space initiatives have been dogged by faulty designs, software errors and chronic cost overruns. It has lost out on recent contracts with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to return science experiments and astronauts to the moon, amid low rankings on price and technical merit.
Boeing needs revenues from its defense and space arm, which makes everything from military jets to satellites, as a safety net as it navigates through the MAX crisis and slowed demand for new commercial jets in the pandemic.
Its space ambitions soon will face a major test with another attempt to launch a capsule called the Starliner. In the first launch, just over a year ago without astronauts on board, a software error sent the Starliner into the wrong orbit, and then another threatened a catastrophic end to the mission. A successful launch, which could come as soon as March, would help restore the company's reputation for reliability and engineering prowess.
Related: Boeing high energy laser system continues to high-power testing
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
