Kelly Ortberg starts at Boeing amid a series of quality crises

What goes up must come down, unless it’s a Boeing (NYSE:BA) Starliner. The spacecraft has faced helium leaks (for propulsion) and thruster issues (for deorbiting) since flying to the International Space Station in June, stranding astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in the far reaches of the thermosphere. The mission to the ISS was supposed to only last eight days, but two months have already passed, and there’s now talk of the situation lasting until early 2025.

Snapshot: There have been disagreements about the data and potential risks tied to Starliner amid investigations that are still ongoing. While Boeing (BA) has vouched for the craft, NASA leadership is still debating whether the vehicle can be deemed safe to return to Earth. The agency is now weighing a plan to bring back the astronauts via Boeing rival SpaceX (SPACE), which has delivered food and supplies to the station, including extra clothes for Wilmore and Williams.

The coming weeks will be critical as a decision will have to be made whether to include two empty seats on the next SpaceX mission – whose launch has been pushed to September and has a return date of Feb. 2025. “If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return,” Boeing (BA) responded in a statement. However, it would be the latest in a series of reputation problems for the company (MAX jet crashes, door plug blowout and guilty plea) that will need to be resolved by new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who starts in his role on Thursday.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program was structured as a multi-tiered competition to get private sector companies to produce the most cost-effective, innovative and safe way to get to the International Space Station. While SpaceX (SPACE) has already sent nine manned missions to the ISS with its Crew Dragon capsule, Boeing (BA) has so far incurred $1.4B in accounting losses for its program, as well as many issues and delays during flight testing and manufacturing. If Boeing (BA) faces more trouble certifying the Starliner, it would deal a big blow to the ambitions of the aerospace giant, whose resume goes back to the Apollo moon missions.

“I’m extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company,” Ortberg, who previously led aerospace firm Rockwell Collins, announced after being appointed in late July. “Boeing has a tremendous and rich history as a leader and pioneer in our industry, and I’m committed to working together with the more than 170,000 dedicated employees of the company to continue that tradition, with safety and quality at the forefront. There is much work to be done, and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

SA commentary: “With a mechanical engineering degree, he brings experience in the right field to lead Boeing (BA),” noted Dhierin Bechai, Investing Group Leader of The Aerospace Forum. “His experience in business integration most likely put him on top of the list given the upcoming integration of Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) in Boeing (BA).”

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