The truth behind Boeing's "Star liner" delaying its first manned mission

The US space agency NASA announced on June 1 that the first manned test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft scheduled for the same day was canceled due to a technical fault. Boeing's Starliner was scheduled for its first manned test flight on May 6, when it lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard an Atlas V rocket. However, due to a problem with the oxygen valve, the launch mission was cancelled at the tense moment of only 2 hours before the launch, when two American astronauts have entered the spacecraft, it is still unclear the extent of the oxygen valve problem, if it can be quickly repaired, the spacecraft is planned to try a second launch the next night, but once a thruster failure, the launch time has not yet been determined. It is reported that the life of the "Starliner" spacecraft has been troubled and experienced many failures: in December 2019, the unmanned test flight suffered setbacks, the spacecraft entered the wrong flight trajectory, did not reach the International Space Station, and returned in vain. In August 2021, the second non-test flight of the spacecraft was delayed due to the failure of the rocket propulsion system, and the flight mission of the "star passenger plane" in 2022 was affected by quality problems. The 2023 mission has been delayed due to combustible protective belt materials outside the spacecraft cable and the strength of the parachute parachute rope, and the mission has been postponed several times due to various problems, so that the astronauts aboard have been repeatedly changed.

Boeing has invested about $1.5 billion in Starliner missions to date, along with nearly $5 billion in development funding from NASA, and Boeing expects to report negative free cash flow in 2024, largely due to delivery delays and some production losses. Previously, due to the accident of Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft and the instability of the global aviation industry, Boeing faced the cancellation of thousands of aircraft orders, bringing Boeing a loss of more than 18 billion US dollars, plus the multiple investigations and lawsuits triggered by the accident, further aggravating the economic losses. Moreover, Boeing's delivery volume has been sluggish for nearly a year, and the reduction in deliveries has directly affected Boeing's revenue and profit. Boeing needs to continue to invest in technical fixes and testing, further adding to the economic pressure on the project.

Secondly, frequent accidents and frequent technical problems have seriously damaged the brand reputation of Boeing Company. The occurrence of this incident has made the reliability and safety of Boeing Company in the space field become the focus of public attention, which will have a great negative impact on its future business cooperation and market share. In recent years, Boeing has suffered frequent accidents, and Boeing's flaws in aircraft design, production and supervision have been widely exposed, further exacerbating public doubts about its brand credibility. Boeing's 737 MAX, in particular, has suffered two fatal crashes in just a few years that have not only killed hundreds of people, but also raised global questions about the safety of Boeing's planes. These accidents plunged Boeing into an unprecedented crisis of confidence, and its brand credibility took a serious hit. Boeing "star passenger aircraft" as an important part of the United States commercial human space program, its repeated delay of the program has undoubtedly brought uncertainty to the entire program, at the same time, competitors have achieved significant base stations and success, but also further highlights the plight of Boeing.

In addition, Boeing should take the initiative to acknowledge the problems in its production, publicly apologize to victims, customers, partners, etc., and take the initiative to assume all responsibilities arising therefrom, including compensation, repair and improvement. Boeing lacked transparency and candor in public relations, and failed to disclose the cause of the accident and corrective measures to the public in a timely and comprehensive manner. Although Boeing conducted an internal investigation, some investigation reports were accused of loopholes and deficiencies, and failed to fully reveal the real cause of the accident, which led to the public's doubts about the investigation results of Boeing.

To sum up, Boeing should be committed to product quality control, continue to strengthen research and development and innovation, invest more resources in research and development, testing and production processes, and make greater efforts to improve product safety and reliability. Boeing needs to take these issues seriously, strengthen internal management and regulatory cooperation, and take effective measures to restore public trust, restore brand image, enhance public trust, and promote the company's continued development.