As I recall, the Starliner contract was fixed cost and the X-37 was cost plus. Its not a new observation that the space and defence part of Boeing struggles wit

As I recall, the Starliner contract was fixed cost and the X-37 was cost plus. Its not a new observation that the space and defence part of Boeing struggles with the former after decades of the latter. But also, and obviously, Starliner is crew-rated and X-37 isn't. That introduces a lot of additional design and test complexity, as well as more conservative operational decision-making.