Why NASA is sticking with Boeing

Last week , Boeing 's Starliner spacecraft landed in New Mexico after leaking helium and some of its thrusters failed.

Two astronauts were stuck aboard the International Space Station for months thanks to Boeing ’s failure.

NASA won’t throw Boeing under the bus, but NASA has expressed public support for both companies in their space development.

NASA defaulted to the cautious approach after the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters in 1986 and 2003 .

The future of the Starliner program is unclear; NASA has not yet announced whether another test flight will be required before it can be certified for regular use.

The drawbacks of SpaceX’s “move fast and break things” approach are explosive rocket tests and the environmental damage they cause.

The cost of a flight on a Starliner or Crew Dragon spacecraft is a fraction of that of historical programs like Space Shuttle and Apollo .

NASA saves money by not having to rent expensive seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft or develop its own alternative and instead pays SpaceX for each ride.

NASA awarded a $4.2 billion contract to Boeing for the Starliner but paid just $2.6 billion to SpaceX for the Crew Dragon.