Boeing received orders for only four new planes in May — and for the second straight month, none for its best-selling 737 Max, as fallout continues from the blowout of a side panel on a Max during a flight in January.
The results released Tuesday compared unfavorably with Europe’s Airbus, which reported net orders for 15 planes in May — 27 sales but 12 cancellations.
Meanwhile:
Boeing and NASA announced Friday night that mission officials are again delaying the Boeing Starliner capsule’s return to Earth from the International Space Station.
The announcement is only the latest in a string of recent delays. Officials have pushed back the Starliner spacecraft’s departure date several times after the vehicle — which launched Williams and Wilmore to the space station on June 5 — experienced some issues en route to the space station.
Officials did not immediately announce a new return date, but the space agency indicated the return of Starliner’s crew, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, won’t come until July.
When Wilmore and Williams turn in for their sleep time ("night" being a tenuous concept in low Earth orbit), one wonders if they are pondering the choices they've made in life that took them into orbit on one of the biggest pieces of shit to fly on a rocket since Soyuz 1. And, you can bet that the last thing NASA wants is to see another manned spacecraft burn up on re-entry.
I don't know what the chances are of Starliner being jettisoned to burn up as space junk and those two astronaughts being stuck there until SpaceX can send up a Crew Dragon capsule with two empty seats, but they are definately non-zero. Even if Space Karen will be crowing about it until he strokes out.
When you load the pipeline, the shit just keeps on coming.
ReplyDeleteAnd the CEO looks at himself in the mirror, chips himself on the chin and says "You're doing a great job, buddy".
ReplyDeleteBoeing is a financialized corporation. As such, it does not build aircraft/spacecraft. It mimes building aircraft/spacecraft.
ReplyDeleteWhen Boeing was in Seattle and run by engineers, it built superb airplanes.
ReplyDeleteBut then it was bought by McDonnell Douglas, which was more interested in perpetually boosting their stock values and not all that concerned over, you know: dead people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8oCilY4szc&t=0s
With Boeing's reputation, I half expected this space shot to blow after launch. I see I was only half wrong. I really do hope they make it back alive. Sorry that they trusted Boeing to begin with.
ReplyDeletew3ski
And stop making Musk look competent!
ReplyDeleteSteve, it’s hard to make anyone look bad compared to Boeing, these days. Maybe Ilyushin?
ReplyDelete