The Starliner spacecraft program from Boeing now shows $2 billion worth of losses which establishes new profitability lows while Boeing deals with multiple technical and operational challenges. The program suffered a $523 million loss during 2024 which became the biggest single-year deficit since its origin.
Since NASA provided Boeing with their $4.9 billion fixed-price Starliner development contract in 2014 the company has maintained ongoing financial losses. Coordinated by Boeing to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station the program faces ongoing technical setbacks and delay issues after its first human flight with propulsion abnormalities in summer 2021.
The successful ISS delivery mission of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams ended with NASA choosing to return the crew aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule which damaged Starliner’s reputation. The company continues to face additional difficulties as critics debate this decision since it was made. 
Boeing maintains a crucial industry position against SpaceX because the company already performed 10 crewed mission tasks for NASA. The path ahead for Starliner aircraft remains unclear because NASA has not set a definite schedule to fix propulsion problems nor to obtain system approval. SpaceX appears to be slated for missions by NASA during 2025 while Starliner faces indefinite delays for its following flight.
Boeing recently instated John Mulholland as Starliner Vice President to replace Mark Nappi while Mulholland previously directed the program from 2011 through 2020. Public updates about Starliner’s development plan have not been announced by either Boeing or NASA after October despite ongoing stakeholder interest.
The Starliner program faces an important crossroads while Boeing continues to accumulate more losses affecting its position in the expanding commercial space sector.
