Boeing silent amid Starliner rift speculation, but NASA hopeful of its commitment: What we know so far

Boeing has been silent ever since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to bring Starliner back to Earth without its crew members.

The absence of Boeing officials during the news conference held after Starliner's landing on Earth on September 7 fueled speculation about a rift between NASA and Boeing.

The US space agency and the aerospace company joined hands to carry out Starliner's first crewed flight to space. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore became the first persons to fly on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had launched aboard Starliner's Calypso spacecraft on June 5. They reached the International Space Station on June 6.

The duo was supposed to return to Earth on Starliner within days. However, their return was delayed after Starliner was detected with technical issues involving helium leaks.

To ensure the safety of two NASA astronauts, the US space agency decided to bring back Starliner empty on September 6. They further said Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will spend eight months in space to come back home on SpaceX craft in February 2025.

NASA, Boeing rift speculations

The absence of Boeing executives from recent NASA press briefings fueled speculation of a rift between the two sides. Sources had told the New York Post that meetings between the two sides often descended into yelling and arguments.

NASA had earlier confirmed having a "difference of opinions" with Boeing during a discussion over the return plan for Starliner and its astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.

Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager said during a press conference on September 4, "Boeing believed in the model that they had created that tried to predict the thruster degradation for the rest of the flight...[but] the NASA team, due to the uncertainty in the modeling, could not get comfortable with that."

"...the teams were very split...and [due to the] uncertainty relative to the thruster...the NASA team chose to return Butch and Suni on [SpaceX] Dragon," Steve Stich said.

When asked if there were "heating discussions" or "almost a shouting match" between the NASA and Boeing teams during the meeting, Stitch said, "...I would not characterise it as heated...anytime you are in a meeting of this magnitude where there is this kind of decision, there is some tension in the room."

Meanwhile, Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station, explained Boeing's perspective, saying that Boeing "is in a bit of a different position in terms of our understanding about the risks and what's available to us without Starliner".

Boeing silent amid Starliner Saga?

Boeing officials made limited public comments about the company's Starliner spacecraft over a few weeks. Boeing representatives last participated in a news briefing about the Starliner mission on July 25. NASA had announced on August 24 its decision to return Starliner without the crew.

Boeing representatives did not appear at Starliner's post-landing briefing. According to reports, they were initially scheduled to do so. They claimed that a NASA public advisory included the names of two Boeing officials slated to take part in the post-landing news conference held on September 7.

Eric Berger, a senior editor for Ars Technica who was present at the event, wrote on X that two chairs were removed from the dais shortly before the briefing began. He said, “It's seemingly a last-minute change because there were five chairs set up at the news conference here at JSC [Johnson Space Center in Houston], and they just removed two seats right now.”

'Boeing is committed…'

When asked about the absence of Boeing officials from the presser, Joel Montalbano, the deputy associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, said on September 7, "We did talk to Boeing before this. They deferred to NASA to represent the mission."

Montalbano said Boeing managers congratulate the team on Starliner's landing on Earth. "They came to the control room and talked to the NASA team…Boeing is committed to continue to work with us," he added.

Montalbano added that Boeing has critical work to do for NASA's space station program, the commercial crew program, and space launch system's program. "Their work is critical for the success of all three programs," he said.

Instead of appearing at the post-landing briefing, Mark Nappi, the vice president and program manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Program, issued a brief statement on the company's website.

"I want to recognise the work the Starliner teams did to ensure a successful and safe undocking, deorbit, re-entry and landing," said Mark Nappi. "We will review the data and determine the next steps for the program," he added.

Meanwhile, astronaut Butch Willmore said in a recent interaction with media that both NASA and Boeing are "onboard" with changes needed to bring Starliner back on track.

"We have lessons learnt that we will go through. We will have discussions" with NASA and Boeing regarding what needs to change in order to get Starliner back on track. He said things that need to change will change. "...when you have issues like those we had, there are some changes that need to be made... Boeing's on board with that. We are all on board with that," Wilmore said on Friday.

Boeing is yet to respond or issue a statement on the ongoing speculations about its rift with NASA and change in public visibility.