{"id":9924,"date":"2025-01-31T21:15:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/former-head-of-boeings-starliner-program-returns-to-role\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T21:15:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:15:46","slug":"former-head-of-boeings-starliner-program-returns-to-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/former-head-of-boeings-starliner-program-returns-to-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Former head of Boeing\u2019s Starliner program returns to role"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Officials from NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing\u2019s Orbital Flight Test at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. From left are Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program; John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program; and John Elbon, chief operating officer, United Launch Alliance. Image: NASA\/Kim Shiflett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A familiar face is once again leading the Starliner development and mission execution work. On Thursday, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed that John Mulholland is back in the role of vice president of the company\u2019s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), which manages work involving the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.<\/p>\n

He previously served in the role from 2011 to 2020 when he became the VP and program manager for Boeing\u2019s International Space Station program. He oversaw the initial development of the CST-100 before it was named \u201cStarliner\u201d and managed the program through the inaugural flight of the spacecraft: the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn Mulholland is vice president of Boeing\u2019s Commercial Crew program following Mark Nappi\u2019s decision last year to retire from Boeing,\u201d said Boeing in a statement. \u201cJohn\u2019s deep customer knowledge and product understanding will be instrumental in leading the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
In the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center, former agency Administrator Jim Bridenstine (center) briefed then Center Director Bob Cabana (left), and then John Mulholland, vice president and manager of Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner Program (center), and. The C3PF is the production and processing home of Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft. Bridenstine made his first official visit to NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 6 and 7, 2018. Image: NASA\/Kim Shiflett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nappi oversaw Starliner development and operations through two pivotal points: the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) in 2022 and the Crew Flight Test (CFT) in 2024. His current position is as the senior program advisor for Space Exploration Initiatives for Boeing\u2019s Exploration Systems division.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this role, Nappi is focused on identifying opportunities for improvement across the division\u2019s programs. He is responsible for ensuring there\u2019s a disciplined approach to program management across Boeing\u2019s human spaceflight programs,\u201d stated a bio for Nappi prepared for the 2025 SpaceCom conference in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes incorporating lessons learned from Starliner into BES processes, relationships and contracts, as well as leading Lean activities and factory throughput on the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) production.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nappi\u2019s decision to retire is in line with Boeing corporate policy of a mandatory retirement at age 65. He will reach that age next month.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Mark Nappi, senior program advisor for Space Exploration Initiatives for Boeing\u2019s Exploration Systems division, speaks at a panel during the 2025 SpaceCom conference in Orlando, Florida, on Jan. 30, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nappi referenced his change in roles during his appearance on a SpaceCom panel entitled, \u201cThe Power of Public-Private Partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood afternoon. My name is Mark Nappi. I work for Boeing. I\u2019m kinda partly between jobs. I just got off the Commercial Crew program and in another month, I\u2019ll be joining my wife as a retiree,\u201d Nappi said in his introductory remarks. \u201cI worked in human spaceflight for 40 years: space shuttle, SLS, Commercial Crew, some experience with the International Space Station.\u201d<\/p>\n

The panel didn\u2019t focus much on the Starliner spacecraft or last year\u2019s CFT mission, but one of the audience questions did focus on what changes Nappi would have wanted to see if he could turn back time and shift something with how NASA designed CCP.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional contracting with the government is more of a cost-type arrangement and when you\u2019re working under a cost-type contract, and the government wants you to do it this way, you can offer ideas, but when they want you to do it this way, you do it this way,\u201d Nappi said. \u201cAnd it doesn\u2019t matter how much it costs as a cost-type contract. You\u2019re here to work for the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when we\u2019re spending our money, we want to find the best way to get it to them. And that\u2019s what we need to be able to figure out. If I was to be able to change things about the Commercial Crew Program, and you\u2019d hear the same thing from the other provider, is I think we\u2019d go back and revisit those requirements and make them more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starliner\u2019s future<\/h4>\n

Mulholland returns to the management of Starliner as Boeing continues work to rectify the problems the occurred during the CFT mission. The spacecraft launched atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket on June 6, 2024, and ferried NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS.<\/p>\n

Helium leaks and thruster issues within the propulsion system during the flight and while docked at the space station led NASA to ultimately decide to bring Starliner back to Earth without its crew onboard. The spacecraft landed at the U.S. Army\u2019s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Sept. 7 and was subsequently transported back to the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n

Since then, Boeing hasn\u2019t provided an update on the progress of changes to the spacecraft that will be used to fly the next mission. In October, NASA announced that it would not be moving forward with the first, full crew rotation mission with Starliner in the late summer of 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft rests in the desert of the White Sands Space Harbor following its return to Earth from the International Space Station. Image: Boeing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, NASA opted to have SpaceX, the other CCP provider, fly another Crew Dragon mission, dubbed Crew-11, no earlier than July.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing and configuration of Starliner\u2019s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing\u2019s path to system certification is established,\u201d NASA said in an Oct. 15, 2024, blog post. \u201cThis determination will include considerations for incorporating Crew Flight Test lessons learned, approvals of final certification products, and operational readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA didn\u2019t close the door on having Starliner fly this year, stating that it \u201cis keeping options on the table for how best to achieve system certification, including windows of opportunity for a potential Starliner flight in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most recent update on Starliner didn\u2019t come from NASA or Boeing, but rather the independent Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), which met on Thursday, Jan. 30.<\/p>\n

According to Space News, panel member Paul Hill said that NASA updated the group with the post-CFT assessment, adding that \u201csignificant progress is being made\u201d and that \u201cIntegrated NASA-Boeing teams have begun closing out flight observations and in-flight anomalies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program anticipates the propulsive system anomalies will remain open,\u201d Hill said, \u201cpending ongoing test campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft is pictured docked to the International Space Station\u2019s forward-facing port of the Harmony module as the orbiting lab soared 264 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. Image: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Politics enter the picture<\/h4>\n

All this comes as Starliner\u2019s former crew, Wilmore and Williams, were unwittingly thrust into the political arena on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when, seemingly unprompted, SpaceX founder Elon Musk posted to X that President Trump asked SpaceX to \u201cbring home the two astronauts stranded on the space station as soon as possible,\u201d adding that it was \u201cTerrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musk has been a close advisor to the President having donated millions to his electoral campaign and now overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency, which was formally established by an executive order on Jan. 20. Its purpose as stated is \u201cmodernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Starliner pilot Sunita Williams (left) and commander Barry \u201cButch\u201d Wilmore originally planned to spend a little more than a week aboard the International Space Station. But problems with their Starliner spacecraft prompted NASA to keep them in orbit until late February so they can hitch a ride back to Earth aboard the Crew 9 Dragon. Image: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a post to his own social media site, Truth Social, Trump issued a similar statement, claiming that Wilmore and Williams were \u201cvirtually abandoned in space by the Biden administration,\u201d stating that Musk and SpaceX should \u201cgo get\u201d them.<\/p>\n

Despite these statements, Wilmore and Williams have never been \u201cstranded\u201d or \u201cabandoned\u201d as Musk and Trump now claim. While Starliner was still docked to the ISS, NASA determined it to be safe to return them to Earth in an emergency scenario.<\/p>\n

Additionally, temporary seats were installed into the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft as an option to leave, if necessary, once Starliner departed. Endeavour was used for the Crew-8 mission from March 4 to Oct. 25.<\/p>\n

When NASA made the determination to return Starliner without crew on board, it simultaneously decided that Wilmroe and Williams would nominally return to Earth as part of the Crew-9 mission onboard the Dragon Freedom spacecraft, which is currently docked to the ISS.<\/p>\n

Once the Starliner decision was made, Wilmore and Williams joined previous NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as part of Crew-9. On Wednesday, NASA issued a brief statement<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency\u2019s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions,\u201d a NASA spokesperson said in brief statement in response to press questions about the Musk and Trump comments.<\/p>\n

The Crew-9 mission was set to depart the space station in late February, but that was delayed until late-March due to unfinished work on the new Dragon capsule slated to fly the Crew-10 mission. But fresh problems with that capsule are expected to delay that mission further.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NASA astronaut and Pilot for NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-10 mission Nichole Ayers is pictured training inside a mockup of a Dragon cockpit at the company\u2019s facilities in Hawthorne, California. Image: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,\u201d said Steve Stich, NASA\u2019s CCP manager said in a Dec. 17 blog post. \u201cWe appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule\u2019s readiness for flight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spaceflight Now asked NASA on Dec. 17, 2024, for further information about what specifically was delaying the completion of the new capsule but the space agency has yet to provide any additional information.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time that Musk made provocative comments connected to Boeing and Starliner. In September 2024, when SpaceX was facing fines from the Federal Aviation Administration connected Falcon rocket launches in 2023, Musk alleged a double standard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FAA space division is harassing SpaceX about nonsense that doesn\u2019t affect safety while giving a free pass to Boeing even after NASA concluded that their spacecraft was not safe enough to bring back the astronauts,\u201d Musk said in a Sept. 17 post on X. \u201cThere need to be resignations from the FAA leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then in November, Musk stated \u201cThere is no logical purpose to Starliner, given that NASA plans to deorbit Space Station in ~5 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because Starliner is not yet certified, NASA has been using SpaceX singularly for its six-month crew rotation missions. Boeing is on contract to perform six such flights to and from the ISS as part of its CCP contract, but there may only be about 10 more opportunities after this year with plans still in motion to deorbit the space station around or 2030.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Starliner spacecraft on NASA\u2019s Boeing Crew Flight Test is pictured docked to the Harmony module\u2019s forward port as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above the Mediterranean Sea. Image: NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Officials from NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing\u2019s Orbital Flight Test at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. From left are Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program; John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[670,1200,671,1045,190,316],"class_list":["post-9924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-boeing","tag-crew-flight-test","tag-cst-100-starliner","tag-elon-musk","tag-nasa","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}