This just underlines the need for reliable alternatives. They've pumped billions into Starliner and now looks like they'll need billions more. Someone needs to answer for this.

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 25 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This 👏 is 👏 what 👏 the 👏 NASA 👏 space 👏 shuttles 👏 were 👏 for!

I’m still sour that the shuttle program wasn’t replaced by a better shuttle program. For All Mankind is an instruction manual, you guys!

[–] Carighan@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You realize that orbiter had the exact same operational and institutional issues that are the root cause of the current Boeing issues, yes? Just 30+ years later.

So if you spooled the orbiter program forward by the same amount of years, chances are it'll have the exact same flaws. Institutionalized deviance was what brought down their two orbiters after all, and it's the root flaw in all of Boeing's current issues, too. The driving cause might be different (Boeing is cheapskating due to wanting to pay themselves higher CEO bonuses, NASA was cheapskating due to political defunding), but the impacting issue is the same.

The reason SpaceX works so well right now is because it's so new. It can pump absurd amounts of money into its shit. It'll develop the same issues if it ever has to make due with less cash. Which points to the root cause pretty neatly.