Boeing employee feels ‘embarrassed’ and ‘humiliated’ over Elon Musk bailing them out

Boeing's failure to safely return Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore to Earth due to issues with its Starliner space capsule has left employees feeling "humiliated," according to a report by The Post.

NASA has announced that it will now rely on Boeing competitor Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring back the two astronauts, who have been stranded in space for over two months. The astronauts had originally embarked on an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, but their return is now expected in February next year.

Boeing employees feel embarrassed as NASA turns to Space X

Shortly after Starliner reached the ISS, a helium leak and thruster malfunctions were detected, making the capsule unsafe for the journey back to Earth. SpaceX is expected to launch its ninth regular mission to the ISS on September 24.

An unnamed Boeing employee, based in Florida, told The Post that this development is yet another blow to the aerospace giant's credibility, which is already under scrutiny due to a series of accidents involving its commercial flights.

"We've had so many embarrassments lately; we're under a microscope. This just made it, like, 100 times worse," the employee told the publication.

"We hate SpaceX," the employee added. "We talk trash about them all the time, and now they're bailing us out. It's shameful. I'm embarrassed; I'm horrified."

The employee also claimed that morale at Boeing is "in the toilet," with the company shifting the blame onto NASA. Boeing maintains that Starliner is capable of safely returning the astronauts to Earth, but NASA disagrees and has chosen SpaceX to handle their return.

"They have their own PR issues and don't want two dead astronauts," the employee added. "But we never thought there would be dead astronauts. We would never have recommended using Starliner if we believed it was unsafe."

Starliner to return empty-handed

NASA and Boeing are reportedly at odds over Starliner's safety. Despite the helium leak and thruster failures, Boeing has stated that the issues have been addressed, but NASA, not wanting to risk lives, opted for SpaceX's Crew Dragon mission to bring back the astronauts in February 2025.

Starliner will now return empty, without the NASA astronauts, marking a significant embarrassment for both NASA and Boeing. Boeing had secured a $4.5 billion contract from NASA for the mission and has already spent an additional $1.5 billion. The goal was to establish Starliner as NASA's second mode of transportation to the ISS alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon, but this setback has cast doubt on Boeing's credibility.

"Boeing has worked very hard with NASA to get the necessary data to make this decision," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. "We want to further understand the root causes and the design improvements needed so that the Boeing Starliner can serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS."