Boeing Considering Sale of Space Business, WSJ Reports

Boeing (BA, Financials) is considering selling parts of its space business, including the Starliner spacecraft and operations related to the International Space Station, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

The team constructing NASA’s Space Launch System is not included in the division concerned in sales.

Boeing said it does not deal with market rumors or speculation, so it refrained to comment on the topic.

Years of technical issues and delays on Boeing’s Starliner vehicle have cost over $1.8 billion more. Two NASA astronauts sent by Boeing to the International Space Station stay there and should return in February on a spaceship owned by rival SpaceX.

Boeing has been constructing and maintaining modules for the International Space Station, due for retirement by 2030, for decades; NASA is looking at privately owned stations as alternatives.

Apart from space business concerns, Boeing is also handling a five-week strike involving 33,000 employees, therefore stopping the manufacturing of its 737 MAX, 767, and 777 airplanes.

Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO, has been trying to steady the division responsible for planemaking. Though no reference was made to the space business, Ortberg said in a recent quarterly call that he hopes Boeing “do less and do it better.”

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.