Boeing’s new CEO must now weigh its duty to NASA vs. strained cash reserves
Science & Technology

Boeing’s new CEO must now weigh its duty to NASA vs. strained cash reserves

NASA Space Technology After a humiliating setback to its space ambitions, Boeing Co. faces a dilemma that pits its national duty against strained cash reserves.The decision about the future of the struggling Starliner program now rests with Boeing’s newly installed chief executive officer, Kelly Ortberg, after NASA announced Saturday that it wouldn’t send astronauts home from the space station on the faulty spacecraft. Following weeks of testing and heated debate, the space agency decided it was safer to use Elon Musk’s SpaceX.The specter of NASA astronauts being stuck in space is just one embarrassing moment of many for Boeing during an epically bad year that’s included a near-catastrophic blowout of an airborne 737 Max jetliner, federal investigations and an executive suite shake-up.That leaves Ortberg, who took over the top job earlier this month, and the senior leadership council known internally as “exco,”...
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Leadership Lessons from a NASA Tragedy
Science & Technology

Leadership Lessons from a NASA Tragedy

NASA Space Technology August 21, 2024 In early 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the earth’s atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board were killed.This was not the first NASA mission to end in disaster, and it inspired Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson to write a business case about what went wrong.Edmondson studies psychological safety and organizational learning. Her most recent book is Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well.In this episode, she breaks down the organizational challenges within NASA that contributed to the Columbia tragedy, offering a window into the organization’s leadership. Edmondson also shares lessons for all leaders about the dangers of unyielding hierarchy and...
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NASA’s DART impact permanently changed the shape and orbit of asteroid moon, new study shows
Science & Technology

NASA’s DART impact permanently changed the shape and orbit of asteroid moon, new study shows

NASA Space Technology An illustration depicting NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben. When NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with an asteroid moon called Dimorphos in 2022, the moon was...
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