Listeners, over the past few days, Boeing's Starliner program and Boeing’s broader space and aviation operations have been making headlines for several key developments.
First, turning to the Starliner, recent news coverage by Teslarati notes that NASA and Boeing successfully attempted another Starliner landing following an issue where the spacecraft missed its intended orbit. While specific details about the outcome remain limited, the very fact that Starliner’s operation captured attention again reinforces both the challenges and the persistence surrounding Boeing’s efforts to become a reliable NASA partner in crewed spaceflight. This fits into a larger context where every Starliner test and operational milestone remains under tremendous scrutiny after years of delays, technical issues, and comparison with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon program.
Moving to Boeing’s commercial space program as a whole, multiple reports, including from the Wall Street Journal and Fox Business, reveal that Boeing is quietly pushing forward on a new aircraft—their first clean-sheet single-aisle jet since the 737 MAX, which is aimed to eventually replace the troubled MAX line. Company sources suggest that development is still in its early phases, focusing currently on advanced cockpit designs and negotiations for what’s intended to be an extremely fuel-efficient engine with Rolls-Royce. The engine under discussion, according to Aerotime, is expected to offer up to 20 percent better fuel efficiency than the powerplants used on the Airbus A320neo.
This push for a modern, ground-up design represents Boeing’s response to years of safety concerns and production missteps, especially after the infamous 737 MAX grounding and the 787 Dreamliner production delays. According to Leeham News, this new project is the culmination of years of secretive parallel design work, with the company evaluating radical new wing geometries and weighing the trade-offs of truss-braced versus traditional tube-wing designs. Former CEO David Calhoun’s leadership saw Boeing exploring both futuristic and conventional approaches, and the new administration is tasked with picking the direction that can both mitigate regulatory hurdles and maintain competitiveness against Airbus.
At a recent investor event, Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg admitted the company is behind schedule on certifying its new widebody 777-9 while simultaneously having to boost reliability and safety oversight for all new models following persistent FAA scrutiny. Significantly, as of September 29th, the FAA has just permitted Boeing to issue some airworthiness certificates for both the 737 MAX and 787, although the agency made clear this is a tentative step and not a return to business as usual.
In total, listeners should note that Boeing is deep in a transitional period: working to rehabilitate its reputation and engineering culture, renewing focus on product reliability, and quietly investing billions into the next generation of aviation technology, all while maintaining its place as a key American player in both crewed spaceflight and commercial aircraft.
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