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Satellite static ; Company must prove lofty ideas can bolster the bottom line.

Article Excerpt
As the outlook for commercial aircraft orders dims, Boeing Co. is reaching for the stars in hopes of giving profits a boost.

The aerospace giant is counting on its $10-billion space and communications business to help fuel growth and challenge the gains that rival Airbus has made in the market Boeing once dominated.

The core of Boeing's plan revolves around creating high-margin satellite communications services that not only will bolster the company's anemic 5% profit margin, but drive demand for Boeing satellites and the rockets that launch the birds into space.

The company has already come up with a few ideas: a new air traffic control system, Internet connections on commercial airplanes and Hollywood movies distributed digitally via satellite to theaters around the world.

But these projects are in the early stages and have yet to generate sales. And the ventures are risky-a tact that runs counter to the engineer-run company's conservative and slow-moving culture.

``At this point, it's just wishful thinking,'' says Robert Friedman, aerospace and defense analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York. ``No one knows what the services or the competitive landscape will look like down the road. I'm fairly skeptical about these businesses boosting the bottom line for a long time.''

Critics need only look...

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