Boeing reported a loss of $523 million in 2024 for its CST-100 Starliner program, bringing the total charges for the commercial crew vehicle to over $2 billion. The company disclosed the losses in its 10-K annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 3, attributing the financial setbacks to “schedule delays, higher testing and certification costs, as well as higher costs for post-certification missions.”
This recent charge marks the largest single-year loss Boeing has recorded for Starliner, surpassing the $489 million loss the company reported in 2019. The 2024 charge includes a $125 million loss in the second quarter, a $250 million loss in the third quarter, and an estimated $148 million loss for the fourth quarter. Boeing noted in its filing, “Risk remains that we may record additional losses in future periods.”
The company has faced a prolonged development process with Starliner, which is designed to transport crew to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Despite the setbacks, Boeing did not provide any updates on the spacecraft's next flight. Executives did not address the Starliner program during Boeing's earnings call on January 28, and neither Boeing nor NASA have offered a timeline for the spacecraft's return to flight.
During a meeting of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel on January 30, members were briefed on the investigation into Starliner's issues during its Crew Flight Test mission. While NASA reported “significant progress” on some problems, unresolved thruster issues led to the spacecraft returning uncrewed. Panel member Paul Hill said, “The details shared by NASA gave us confidence that they are focusing on the right core issues and the related path to safely flying Starliner,” though he did not provide a timeline for its next flight.
