Stephen Parker, who earned a master’s at Queensland University of Technology, had previously been managing the role in an interim capacity since the last department chief was ousted.
Parker’s promotion comes amid a difficult time for Boeing’s space department, with NASA recently admitting it’s “still evaluating” whether Starliner’s next flight would be crewed and the company also admitting last year its space division was facing substantial losses.
“Under Steve’s leadership, our defense business has stabilised its operations, improved program execution and strengthened relationships with our customers,” said Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg.
‘With proven experience in manufacturing and program management, combined with his focus on developing people and building a strong culture, Steve is a leader who exemplifies the best of Boeing.”
Boeing said Parker will report to Ortberg and serve on the company’s executive council, as well as overseeing all aspects of the company’s business unit that provides technology, products and solutions for defence, government, space and intelligence customers.
“Parker previously led the bombers and fighters division responsible for tactical and air dominance fighters – such as the EA-18G, F/A-18E/F, F-15E/EX, F-22 and the T-7A training system – and strategic Bombers comprising the B-1, B-52 and, in collaboration with Northrop Grumman, the B-2,” said Boeing in a statement.
“In addition to being responsible for more than 15,000 employees at the St Louis, Missouri site as senior executive, he also oversaw the design and manufacture of composite flight controls and the innovative folding wingtip for Boeing’s new 777X passenger airplane.”
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Parker formally replaces Ted Colbert III, who took over Boeing Defense, Space & Security in 2022.
Boeing’s space operations saw an embarrassing setback last year with the stranding of a pair of astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) following technical issues with the thrusters on the company’s Starliner spacecraft. The astronauts, who arrived at the ISS in June 2024, were meant to stay for a week but finally returned to Earth in March this year.
The test mission paved the way for Starliner to become a regular alternative, but its failure sent the project back to the drawing board.
“NASA is assessing the earliest potential for a Starliner flight to the International Space Station in early 2026, pending system certification and resolution of Starliner’s technical issues,” the agency said in a statement last month.
“The agency is still evaluating whether Starliner’s next flight will be in a crew or cargo configuration.”
Previously, in April, NASA said its astronauts were “training for a Starliner post-certification mission”, but it had “not yet assigned a full Starliner-1 crew for focused training”.
Despite the problems, Starliner did return safely to Earth in a vindication for Boeing’s engineers, and the aerospace giant was reportedly confident it could have made the trip home with Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams onboard.
Subsequently, NASA made modifications to Starliner’s system to address its underlying problems.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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