Elon Musk dampened the spirit of Boeing’s inaugural astronaut flight to space by publicly criticizing the company on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Boeing collaborated with NASA to construct the Starliner spacecraft, which is scheduled to embark on its journey to the International Space Station on Monday evening. Onboard will be astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
In 2020, SpaceX achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first private company to successfully launch astronauts into space, thus putting an end to a nine-year gap in US human spaceflight.
In a recent post on X, Musk made sure to emphasize that SpaceX completed the project four years earlier. Business Insider reached out to Boeing for comment, but they have yet to respond.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which achieved this milestone, is part of the same NASA initiative that will be launching the Starliner on Monday. Known as the Commercial Crew Program, NASA provided Boeing with $4.2 billion to develop, construct, and conduct testing for its spacecraft.
SpaceX not only accomplished the task at a faster pace but also managed to do it at a lower cost. The company’s spaceship, which cost NASA only $2.6 billion, has successfully transported seven astronaut crews to and from the ISS since its inaugural crewed flight in 2020. Currently, the eighth crew is residing on the station. Additionally, SpaceX has undertaken four private missions as well.
SpaceX is a leading aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company. The company was founded by Elon Musk with the goal of revolutionizing space technology and making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has made significant advancements in the field of space exploration and has successfully launched numerous missions, including the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft. The company is known for its innovation and commitment to reducing the cost of space travel. SpaceX’s achievements have garnered global attention and have paved the way for future space exploration endeavors.
SpaceX has been consistently generating revenue with every successful flight, while Boeing continues to pour more funds into the development of Starliner.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX in 2002, highlighted the discrepancy during a recent discussion. He specifically identified the presence of “too many non-technical managers at Boeing” as the reason behind this disparity.
Elon Musk shared an article by Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica, which provided a detailed account of how Boeing ended up losing the commercial crew space race and the significant costs associated with it.
Technical issues were the main cause of the delays encountered by Starliner. In its initial attempt to fly to the ISS without a crew, software errors emerged, leading to its early return to Earth. Furthermore, a range of problems, including malfunctioning valves in the propulsion system, further contributed to the delays.
According to experts like Musk and Berger, there is a deeper reason behind this phenomenon.
The Commercial Crew Program marks a significant change in NASA’s perspective towards its contractors. NASA envisions a future where it encourages the development of a competitive economy in space, extending from space stations to the moon and even Mars. Rather than solely taking charge, NASA aims to become one of many customers utilizing companies’ space stations, spaceships, and lunar bases.
NASA opted for fixed-price contracts for Crew Dragon and Starliner, which involved setting a predetermined price. SpaceX and Boeing were then responsible for constructing and operating the spaceships according to NASA’s requirements.
The companies would have other customers on their spaceships, as they were not solely building them for the government. Therefore, if costs start to balloon, it would be their responsibility.
According to aerospace expert George Nield, Boeing is facing a significant adjustment as a legacy contractor for the Department of Defense and NASA.
Boeing was accustomed to having the government cover all its expenses in order to deliver the best possible product. According to Berger, this approach meant that “cost overruns and delays were not the company’s responsibility – they fell on NASA.”
According to Nield, a former associate administrator of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, once a fixed price is established, it becomes the company’s responsibility to determine the risks associated with new technologies and approaches.
Boeing faced a challenge in adapting to the fixed-price model, as they were accustomed to moving at a slower pace. On the other hand, SpaceX thrived in this environment, being described by Berger as being in its natural element.
According to a spokesperson, applying the fixed price acquisition approach to complex technology development requirements or unclearly defined requirements can lead to challenges. In such cases, there may be ongoing back-and-forth trades before a final design baseline is established.
According to Berger, the spokesperson stated, “A fixed price contract provides limited flexibility when it comes to resolving complex problems often encountered in the development of new products and capabilities.”
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