Investing in Space: Boeing inches closer to Starliner launch

For the company, Starliner’s first crewed flight is a notch in Boeing’s space belt. But beyond that, the mission doesn’t represent a strong, new competitor in the market – it’s more akin to a former marathon runner who let themselves go and are now gasping across the line, a far cry from previous personal bests.

Boeing itself has previously said it would like to be further along in launching astronauts and that it wouldn’t commit to more operations beyond the current NASA slate. 

Look, Boeing has a lot else going on. And the company’s already in the backup position for flying NASA astronauts. After years of setbacks and delays, and billions spent by both taxpayers and the company, the likely outcome is that Starliner flies seven times with crew – this flight test and six more operational missions – and then no more. 

And, even this test flight doesn’t feel like a given. Last week, after postponing the launch due to a valve problem on the rocket, the date got pushed back again to May 21 after Boeing discovered “a small helium leak detected in the spacecraft’s service module traced to a flange on a single reaction control system thruster.” Boeing is going to test the capsule’s propulsion system before moving forward, so we’ll see if the May 21 target holds.

I’d love to be proven wrong about Starliner’s future. After all, human spaceflight is a small but significant piece of the broader industry, and competition would be welcomed by companies building places for humans to work and live outside Earth’s atmosphere.

But it would take a miraculous turnaround for Starliner to make up any ground on the so-far-dominant track record of SpaceX’s Dragon. 

Last decade there were “Boeing vs. SpaceX” headlines aplenty in the human spaceflight competition. The coming Starliner crew flight test doesn’t mean that race is back on. 

• The Air Force is concerned about ULA’s pace with Vulcan, with Air Force Assistant Secretary Frank Calvelli writing a blunt letter to space leaders at Boeing and Lockheed Martin about the rocket joint venture’s progress. ULA may fly a “dummy” payload for the second Vulcan launch, key for military certification, if Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser space plane is not ready by the end of the year. – The Washington Post / SpaceNews
• SpaceX aims for fourth Starship test flight in June, CEO Elon Musk said, with the goal “to get past max heating or at least further than last time.” – Reuters
• SpaceX subcontractors and suppliers file liens in Texas over unpaid bills: Property records showed that “more than two dozen companies that have filed at least 72 liens since 2019 against sites developed by SpaceX and its contractors.” – Reuters
• Starlink satellites weather geomagnetic storm, as SpaceX’s VP of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls said “conditions were intense.” The company said the spacecraft “remain healthy” in orbit. – Nicolls
• FAA launches environmental review for Starship launches from NASA’s Kennedy in Florida, beginning work on an environmental impact statement to authorize launches. – SpaceNews

• Lockheed Martin orders 18 satellite buses from Terran Orbital for the defense company’s Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 2 (T2) Tracking Layer contract. – Terran Orbital
• Amazon adds Project Kuiper logistics facility, looking to hire as many as 200 technicians in Everett, Washington. It also has begun manufacturing its production satellites at its Kirkland-based location. – Amazon
• Redwire adds Phantom spacecraft platform to its portfolio, a very low Earth orbit (VLEO) platform being developed in its Belgium facility for a variety of missions, much like its other VLEO spacecraft SabreSat. – Redwire

• AST SpaceMobile stock rips higher after AT&T commercial deal, a six-year agreement “to provide a space-based broadband network direct to everyday cell phones.” The satellite-maker aims to deliver its first five commercial spacecraft this summer for launch later this year. – AST SpaceMobile
• Terran Orbital’s Q1 results saw the company take a $13 million charge, due to issues with a propulsion supplier, while its year-over-year quarterly revenue was down slightly at $27.2 million. – Terran Orbital
• Intuitive Machines aims to launch second lunar mission later this year, an outlook the company reaffirmed during its first-quarter report. The company brought in record revenue of $73.1 million during the quarter. – Intuitive Machines

• Mark Kirasich, former NASA official, joins The Exploration Company to lead the European outfit’s U.S. subsidiary in Houston, Texas. Previously, Kirasich was Blue Origin’s senior director of human spaceflight and before that he had a nearly 40 year career at NASA, rising to serve as the agency’s deputy associate administrator developing the Artemis moon campaign. – The Exploration Company
• David Salvagnini named as NASA Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, the agency’s first in the role and an expansion from his previous role as its chief data officer. – NASA
• Kenneth Crews selected to become Northrop Grumman CFO. He was previously the company’s CFO for its space systems unit. – Northrop Grumman

• May 17: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites from Florida.
• May 19: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches NROL-146 mission from California.
• May 19: Blue Origin’s New Shepard launches NS-25 crew mission from Texas.
• May 21: ULA’s Atlas V launches Boeing’s Starliner crew flight test from Florida.
• May 22: Rocket Lab’s Electron launches NASA’s PREFIRE Mission 1 from New Zealand.