Behind Boeing's decade-long struggle to launch astronauts on Starliner

Boeing’s Starliner, a space capsule intended for transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station, has faced numerous challenges since its inception. In 2014, Boeing secured a contract worth $4.2 billion from NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA also selected SpaceX for the same project, granting the company $2.6 billion. Boeing has struggled to fulfill its contractual obligations, spending $1.5 billion of the nearly $5 billion it has received on delays. Conversely, SpaceX has successfully undertaken several crewed missions since 2020. The future of Boeing’s Starliner project remains uncertain.