Boeing eats another $125 million in losses over Starliner woes

Boeing revealed that it has taken an additional $125 million in damages due to the delay of the Starliner spacecraft returning from the ISS. As SpaceNews According to reports, the company disclosed the loss in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as more details about its earnings for the second quarter of the year. The company has already posted $288 million in losses “primarily due to delays” in the Crew Flight Test mission in 2023.

The first crewed Starliner flight took off in June with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. The Boeing spacecraft was supposed to stay at the ISS for eight days before transporting the astronauts back to Earth, but problems with its hardware prevented the mission from sticking to its original timeline.

The company had to investigate and find out what caused the Starliner to hit the super thrusters while approaching the ISS. In addition, the helium leak that caused several delays in the launch of the spacecraft proved to be even worse. Since June, the company has been conducting the spacecraft in a series of tests. A few days ago, on July 27, it completed a hot-fire test of the Starliner’s reaction control system jets and confirmed that the vehicle’s helium leakage levels remained within acceptable limits. The experiment was conducted with Williams and Wilmore on board, as they were part of preparations for the spacecraft’s return home flight.

NASA said the test results are still being reviewed. But once Boeing and the agency confirm that the Starliner is ready, they will set a date for the return flight of the Starliner and the astronauts.