Boeing's problems aren't confined to planet Earth.
A satellite built by the struggling aviation company has experienced a "major anomaly" and will soon likely explode.
Satellite owner DirecTV has made a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to send it further into space so it can explode in peace.
"In December, Spaceway-1 suffered a major anomaly that resulted in significant and irreversible thermal damage to its batteries," the filing reads.
"Boeing, the spacecraft manufacturer, concluded based on all available data that the batteries' cells cannot be guaranteed to withstand the pressures needed to support safe operation of the spacecraft in eclipse operations; rather, there is a significant risk that these battery cells could burst."
The satellite was launched in 2005, and was previously used to beam HD television signals across the planet. It's currently a back-up satellite, so isn't being used regularly. Usually it gets enough power to operate from the sun, but it's about to enter the Earth's shadow - when the batteries will try to fire up.
"The risk of a catastrophic battery failure makes it urgent that Spaceway-1 be fully de-orbited and decommissioned prior to the February 25th start of eclipse season," the filing states.
Most satellites, when they reach the end of their lifespan, can be left to burn up in the atmosphere. But Spaceway-1 can't because of its location. It resides in what's known as a geostationary orbit - 35,400km above the ground - and there are other satellites orbiting beneath it, which would be at risk of being hit - even more so if it exploded.
The FCC approved DirecTV's plan, tech site The Verge reported.
"This satellite is a backup and we do not anticipate any impacts on consumer service as we retire it," a spokesperson for AT&T, DirecTV's owner, said in a statement. "We are replacing it with another satellite in our fleet."
Boeing has had a number of problems lately, with two crashes of its flagship 737MAX line, slowing sales and the failure of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
