Boeing Appoints John Mulholland as New Head at Starliner Programme

A Boeing spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday that Mark Nappi, the vice president in charge of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft unit, has stepped down from his role and been succeeded by John Mulholland, the company's International Space Station programme manager.

The company stated that Nappi, who managed Boeing's Starliner program from 2022 through significant engineering problems and testing failures, has been repositioned to focus on finding opportunities to streamline and improve the division's space programs as he plans to retire at the end of next month.

Mulholland led Boeing's Starliner program from 2011 until 2020, when he moved to the company's International Space Station program, with which it partners closely under a multibillion-dollar station operations contract.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, made under a NASA contract for nearly $4.5 billion as part of an effort to transport astronauts to the ISS, has encountered a range of engineering issues since 2019.

NASA ordered Starliner to return empty in September after the first crewed test mission last summer due to issues with its propulsion system, leaving its crew aboard the ISS.

In August, a panel of senior NASA officials decided that a Crew Dragon capsule from Elon Musk's SpaceX would bring the astronauts back, as they deemed Starliner too risky for the crew.

During a quarterly panel meeting on Thursday, Paul Hill, a veteran NASA flight director and member of the agency's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, stated that NASA and Boeing are still investigating Starliner's propulsion system.

A Boeing spokesperson stated on Thursday that NASA and the company have not yet decided what Starliner's next mission will entail, including whether it will need to repeat its crewed flight test before receiving NASA certification for regular flights.

NASA's decision in August to have Starliner return empty, leaving its astronauts on the ISS for months longer than originally planned, was a significant setback for Boeing's space division, as SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule continues to lead the private spaceflight industry.