Boeing reportedly considers selling off its space business

Kelly Ortberg, who took over as Boeing CEO in August, is weighing the sale of the company’s space division as part of an attempt to turn things around, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The plans, which are reportedly at an early stage, could involve Boeing offloading the Starliner spacecraft and its projects supporting the International Space Station.

“We’re better off doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well,” Ortberg said during an earnings call this week. “Clearly, our core of commercial airplanes and defense systems are going to stay with the Boeing Company for the long run. But there’s probably some things on the fringe there that we can be more efficient with or that distract us from our main goal here.”

However, sources tell the WSJ that Boeing will likely continue to oversee the Space Launch System, which will eventually help bring NASA astronauts back to the Moon. It’s also reportedly expected to hang onto its commercial and military satellite businesses.