(Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) is exploring the sale of its space business, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The NASA business includes the troubled Starliner space vehicle and operations that support the International Space Station.

The U.S. planemaker was not immediately available to respond to a Reuters request for comment. Its shares rose 0.8% in afternoon trading.

The struggling aerospace company's Starliner spacecraft has been hindered for years by development delays and technical problems with more than $1.8 billion in private cost overruns.

Two NASA astronauts that Boeing ( BA ) brought to the International Space Stations remain stuck there and are scheduled to return in February on a craft from rival SpaceX.

Boeing ( BA ) is also grappling with a labor action by about 33,000 workers at its civil planemaking arm leading to halt in production of its best-selling 737 MAX jets, and 767 and 777 widebodies.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)