Boeing and the International Space Station

By J.R. Wilson - January 29, 2019

A close-up view of Node 1 in its work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility shows two of its six hatches that would serve as docking ports. The module was the first element of the International Space Station to be manufactured in the United States and the first scheduled to be launched on the Space Shuttle. NASA photo

“We congratulate all the astronauts chosen to fly to the space station on commercially developed systems. We’re taking important steps for this nation and toward development of a thriving commercial space ecosystem,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

“The engineer in me always thought if I’m not flying a spaceship, I ought to be part of the team building one,” Ferguson said. “My fingerprints are all over the Starliner and I’m thrilled to get the chance to go back to space on a vehicle that I helped design from the ground up. Riding along with me are all of the members of the Boeing team who have put their hearts and souls into this spacecraft.”

Ferguson, who will be making his fourth spaceflight, has been an integral part of the Starliner program since retiring from NASA and joining Boeing in 2011. He spent more than 40 days in space for NASA during three shuttle missions.

As the ISS celebrates 20 years of continuous manned operations – and with some questions about how its future will evolve – Mulqueen predicts Boeing will continue as the International Space Station’s principal industry overseer, and then carry that experience into the future and far beyond LEO.

“Looking to the future, we continue to work at ways to be more efficient, to manage the vehicle safely, and to look at systems to expand our ability to get to deep space. ISS has a lot of life left in it still. We built it and have used it diligently so that it still functions well. Whatever NASA and the international partners want to do in the future, I think Boeing can help support that,” he predicted.

While it will not match the shuttle’s cargo capacity, Boeing is gearing up to launch America’s first manned mission to the ISS since the shuttle’s retirement – the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft.

“Commercial crew, much like commercial cargo, grew out of ISS with the shuttle retirement and the need for the U.S. and international partners to get to the space station. And our plans are to continue into U.S. spaceflight. Our history is very deep in human spaceflight, and it is natural for us to continue to LEO platforms – Gateway to the Moon and on to Mars.”

With that in mind, Boeing is actively seeking further work on the ISS with NASA, as well as future opportunities in U.S. commercial and foreign manned space systems. It will be a future built on the old premise that “the past is prelude” and the experience and skills Boeing has developed through the ISS, including international recognition for its legacy in human spaceflight.

“Boeing and its heritage companies are very proud of that heritage, and the fact we’ve safely had folks in orbit for more than 18 years. The most impressive part has been associating with NASA to keep humans alive and doing real science out there, developing a robust platform that gives us confidence to go back to the Moon and the Gateway project,” Mulqueen concluded.

“Some people take it for granted, given how well ISS has performed, but it involved a lot of sleepless nights. Exploration is part of our nation’s DNA, and I’m looking forward to future Boeing and NASA leaders returning us to the Moon and then on to Mars.”