After a humiliating setback to its space ambitions, Boeing faces a dilemma that pits its national duty against strained cash reserves.

The decision about the future of the struggling Starliner program now rests with Boeing¡¯s newly installed chief executive officer, Kelly Ortberg, after NASA announced Saturday that it wouldn¡¯t send astronauts home from the space station on the faulty spacecraft.

Following weeks of testing and heated debate, the space agency decided it was safer to use Elon Musk¡¯s SpaceX.