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Before Nasa announced that Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore would return from space on Elon Musk’s SpaceX, there were rounds of heated meetings between Nasa and Boeing executives with the top executives yelling at each other over who’s going to take the responsibility if there’s a catastrophic failure. New York Post quoted a Nasa executive saying that Boeing was not happy as their executives were convinced that Starliner was in good enough condition to bring the astronauts home.But Nasa disagreed. Suni and Butch went on an eight-day voyage but then encountered helium leaks on Boeing’s Starliner about which Boeing had prior knowledge. Now they will remain in the International Space Station for another eight months as the SpaceX mission won’t happen until February.
“But what’s the headline if there’s a catastrophic failure? It’s not ‘Boeing killed two astronauts’, it’s ‘Nasa killed two astronauts.’ So no, it’s better safe than sorry,” the Nasa executive said explaining how they finally decided to rope in SpaceX.
At those heated meetings, Nasa executives held Boeing accountable for the stalemate situation and blamed them for being “wildly irresponsible”.
Boeing’s internal mail to employees
Head of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program Mark Nappi wrote the employees that despite Nasa’s decision that nobody had hoped for, the focus remains on ensuring the safety of Starliner. “I know this is not the decision we had hoped for, but we stand ready to carry out the actions necessary to support NASA’s decision. The focus remains first and foremost on ensuring the safety of the crew and spacecraft. I have the utmost confidence in this team to prepare Starliner for a safe and successful uncrewed return with the same level of professionalism and determination as you did the first half of the mission,” the mail said.
Boeing and SpaceX are rivals and Boeing employees felt humiliated after Nasa’s decision — amid several other criticisms that Boeing is facing now. “We hate SpaceX. We talk s**t about them all the time and now they’re bailing us out,” a Boeing employee told earlier.
“But what’s the headline if there’s a catastrophic failure? It’s not ‘Boeing killed two astronauts’, it’s ‘Nasa killed two astronauts.’ So no, it’s better safe than sorry,” the Nasa executive said explaining how they finally decided to rope in SpaceX.
At those heated meetings, Nasa executives held Boeing accountable for the stalemate situation and blamed them for being “wildly irresponsible”.
Boeing’s internal mail to employees
Head of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program Mark Nappi wrote the employees that despite Nasa’s decision that nobody had hoped for, the focus remains on ensuring the safety of Starliner. “I know this is not the decision we had hoped for, but we stand ready to carry out the actions necessary to support NASA’s decision. The focus remains first and foremost on ensuring the safety of the crew and spacecraft. I have the utmost confidence in this team to prepare Starliner for a safe and successful uncrewed return with the same level of professionalism and determination as you did the first half of the mission,” the mail said.
Boeing and SpaceX are rivals and Boeing employees felt humiliated after Nasa’s decision — amid several other criticisms that Boeing is facing now. “We hate SpaceX. We talk s**t about them all the time and now they’re bailing us out,” a Boeing employee told earlier.
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