Boeing and SpaceX Spaceships: US Attempt to Abandon Russian Soyuz

July 2011 was a landmark month for the US space industry. On the 21st of this month, a historic and sad event for American astronauts occurred – the Space Shuttle program ended. Not because it was bad – it was just time.


But here's the problem - there was nothing to replace the Atlantis shuttle. This was its last flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The United States of America had no more options for delivering astronauts.

Naturally, this was not "trumpeted" everywhere. It was not convenient - how could such a huge country, calling itself a leader, not have its own spaceships?


A way out of the situation was found in advance. They simply agreed with the Russian authorities on the joint use of the Soyuz. That is why our news constantly reported that astronauts had been delivered to the ISS, and among them there would definitely be one or more Americans.

New Players

Naturally, the US knew in advance when the life cycle of the Space Shuttle would end. That is why the COTS program was launched back in 2006. Within its framework, NASA planned to create a series of new spacecraft.

The contract was won by Elon Musk's team, which developed the Falcon 9 rocket andtruck» Dragon. This showed that private companies in the US are capable of quickly resolving a critical situation. And so in 2009 the Commercial Crew Program was launched.


Initially, 35 private companies took part in it. This is not surprising - the finalists were promised multi-million dollar funding. Not immediately, of course, but five winners received from 1,4 to 20 million dollars.

For the third stage of the first phase, the requirements were more serious. Each participant had to submit:

✅ Spaceship
✅ Launch vehicle or any means of launching into orbit
✅ Launch pad
✅ Full flight program
✅ Ground services

The contracts also met the requirements. Their total amount was $1,155 billion. And all of this was divided among the three winners. In 2014, Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, and The Boeing Company were so lucky. Moreover, the latter two companies received twice as much funding as the first.

After the end of the second phase, only SpaceX and Boeing remained. The first company received a contract for 2,6 billion dollars, and the second for 4,2 billion dollars.

Leader and Crew Dragon

Each of the new players managed to attract famous astronauts to their team. SpaceX agreed with Douglas Hurley, the second pilot of Atlantis. Boeing was luckier. Their group included the commander of Atlantis, Christopher Ferguson. The latter even quit NASA.


Flights were planned to begin in 2017. Alas, businessmen were not prepared for the fact that money cannot solve all issues, especially in space exploration. Therefore, contractors delayed the implementation of projects.


Since then, Crew Dragon has been the standard vehicle for delivering astronauts to the International Space Station. It makes two flights a year there and back. There are usually four astronauts on board.

By the way, on January 3, 2025, SpaceX launched the fifth Crew Dragon. It was announced that it would be the last in the series. The manufacturer will focus on the more modern Starship.

Starliner and its problems

Back in 2017, Boeing seemed to be luckier. Many had no doubt that it would, if not completely defeat SpaceX, at least immediately become a leader. Of course, it was allocated almost twice as much money under the contract.


But Crew Dragon took off first. Naturally, Boeing bosses didn’t like it. They started pushing engineers, and they launched Starliner on its maiden voyage in December 2019. Unmanned, naturally.

Unlike Crew Dragon, the competitors' spacecraft had many problems. Software errors, high fuel consumption... Starliner didn't even make it to the ISS.

The next unmanned flight took place only in 2022. Boeing bosses did not want to embarrass themselves in front of SpaceX anymore, and they had already started working in full mode. The mission was a success - the spacecraft delivered cargo to the ISS and returned safely.


But the problems with Starliner continued. It got to the point that NASA refused to return it to Earth with astronauts. But a spaceship is not bus and not even carThere are few places in them, and each one is prepared for a specific person.

Since there is no second Starliner, the Crew Dragon will have to return the astronauts. This will happen in February 2025. And the Russians are helping their hapless colleagues by delivering cargo to the ISS that is necessary for their life support.


As for Starliner, it was sent back to Earth empty. It was a matter of prestige for Boeing to at least end the failed mission this way. It was not possible to abandon the spacecraft, thereby admitting its impotence.

Starliner returned successfully, but NASA is not happy. And there is an opinion that they will refuse to certify the program from Boeing. Especially since Crew Dragon has been working in this field for several years, demonstrating its commercial success.

Space launch system

Boeing also has a super-heavy launch vehicle. This is the Space Launch System (SLS), which was developed based on older projects, primarily the Space Shuttle.

But Boeing hasn't succeeded here either. Its SLS is called a project to "saw off" funding. How could it be otherwise, if the old shuttle Atlantis was reusable, and the new launch vehicle turned out to be disposable?


The first flight of the Space Launch System took place in November 2022. To do this, it was necessary to remove engines from old American shuttles located in museums.

There is no point in developing this program - the rockets are too expensive to produce. Especially considering their disposability. But NASA is not going to abandon it.

Falcon Heavy

SpaceX, in turn, has also developed a heavy-lift launch vehicle. It is called Falcon Heavy, and it is considered partially reusable.


This rocket has already proven its reliability. It saves NASA not only money, but also time. Unlike SLS, Falcon Heavy is a full-fledged "workhorse" and commercially successful.

Starship

Another ambitious project from SpaceX. This is a fully reusable super-heavy launch vehicle. The main goal is to revolutionize space flights by dramatically increasing the payload capacity. At the same time, they promise to reduce the cost of launch and operation several times.

Starship is set to replace all of SpaceX's spacecraft. The new rocket is expected to be so efficient that competitors will have to shut down their programs.


Starship is currently undergoing a series of tests, which are as close to real conditions as possible. The manufacturer is criticized for this, but SpaceX believes that this is the only way to speed up development and launch the rocket into production.

To sum it up, it is worth noting that SpaceX's leadership in the US is undeniable, even at the current stage. If Starship can be improved in the near future, the manufacturer will not have to worry about its future for several decades.

Although, SpaceX has much more grandiose plans. Becoming a leader in the industry is just an intermediate stage. The main thing is the colonization of Mars…