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IT Home reported on August 27 that according to NYPost, Boeing employees felt "humiliated" about NASA's decision to send a SpaceX spacecraft to rescue astronauts trapped on the International Space Station (ISS).

Boeing's Starliner was unable to return Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth safely due to a helium leak and thruster failure, so NASA decided to use SpaceX's Crew Dragon to perform the rescue mission.

According to reports, an anonymous Boeing employee said that this incident was another blow to the company, which has been strongly criticized by the outside world for a series of commercial flight accidents this year.

"We've been through so many embarrassing things lately and have been the target of so much criticism. This is the last straw," the employee said. "We hate SpaceX and always say bad things about them, and now they have to save us. This is so humiliating. I feel embarrassed and horrified."

With morale "at rock bottom," the employee claimed many at Boeing were blaming NASA for "shaming" them.

Boeing has maintained that Starliner is capable of returning astronauts to Earth safely. However, NASA decided to turn to SpaceX after more than two months of testing the spacecraft, which remains docked at the International Space Station.

According to IT Home, the Starliner had a helium leak before launch, which became more severe when docking with the ISS, and the spacecraft's thrusters also malfunctioned multiple times. Although many of the problems have been resolved, NASA said the safest approach is for Wilmore and Williams to return to Earth on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in February 2025.

"We believe that Starliner can bring them home safely, but NASA doesn't want to take any chances," the Boeing employee said. "They also have their own PR issues and don't want to see two astronauts die."

Steve Stich, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said the negotiations with Boeing "came down to a different view of risk." Boeing did not comment on NASA's decision. Instead, the company said it would focus on ensuring that the Starliner can return to Earth safely.

Boeing's original $4.5 billion contract with NASA has already exceeded its budget by $1.5 billion. NASA hopes to use the Starliner as a second mode of transportation to the ISS in addition to SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Problems with the Starliner could threaten this future plan and further damage Boeing's reputation in the aerospace industry.

Boeing has been dogged by safety issues since the beginning of the year, when a door panel fell off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in flight due to four key bolts missing. Boeing has also faced several other aircraft failures, and at least 20 whistleblowers have come forward to raise concerns about the company's safety and quality issues, some of whom have died.