It has been a while since we last heard anything out of Starliner, the spacecraft that launched a thousand debacles and gave aerospace stock Boeing’s (BA) space aspirations a black eye from which it is still trying to recover. Fresh news has emerged about Starliner, and it will likely be the last we see for a while, as Starliner is effectively grounded until at least 2026. Investors, though, seemed oddly pleased. Shares of Boeing notched up fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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There is no shortage of traffic at the International Space Station, with private and government flights alike reaching the structure. A Russian Progress craft arrived July 5, SpaceX has flights coming and going, and there were more besides. But Boeing’s Starliner was nowhere to be seen, and will not be seen, as NASA reveals it is working to get Starliner launched “…no sooner than early 2026.”
The original Starliner mission was slated to run about seven days. After a series of misfires and anomalies, the trip ended up going over eight months, and the Starliner crew had to be brought home on board a SpaceX run. But one positive development came out of it; several components were reconsidered, and are being improved to prepare for further test runs. But those tests will take time, and as such, a new launch will be months away.
Then The Lawsuits Hit
The recent conclusion of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into the Alaska Airlines (ALK) fired up some likely unintended consequences. Several lawsuits against the pair formerly on hold are now going forward, now that the NTSB has weighed in about the causes of the incident. Already, the two have settled one lawsuit, but reports note that three more will be going to trial in 2026.
January 2026 will see one trial involving 51 people, reports noted. A trial for 35 passengers will go in March. Finally, one trial for seven people—including three children—will kick in starting September 2026. Boeing is involved for, of course, the issues of failing to install the door plug correctly to begin with, while Alaska Airlines is on the hook for violating its contract as a “common carrier,” reports note.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 18 Buys, two Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 27.56% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $233.25 per share implies 1.25% upside potential.
