First Crewed Starliner Flight Test [updated - Starliner has landed]

[Waspie_Dwarf]

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA, Boeing Discuss Ground Testing, Forward Work for Starliner Return

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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard, approaches the International Space Station for an autonomous docking as it orbited 257 miles above the South Pacific Ocean on June 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television

NASA and Boeing leadership provided an update on Starliner’s Crew Flight Test during a news conference Thursday. The integrated Starliner team continues to assess the spacecraft’s propulsion system performance and complete other tasks before scheduling its undocking from the International Space Station and return to Earth. Watch the full replay of the news conference.

Engineering teams from NASA and Boeing recently wrapped up ground hot fire testing of a Starliner reaction control system thruster at the agency’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. The test series involved firing the engine under conditions like those the spacecraft experienced during its approach to the space station.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Starliner Docked Hot Fire Testing Complete

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Spacecraft thrusters tested and helium system checked in second successful docked hot fire test.

The Starliner team completed a docked hot fire test of the spacecraft’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters Saturday afternoon, and monitored its helium system, providing additional data points for the Crew Flight Test’s return to Earth.

Starliner team conducts hot fire test on 27 thrusters. Credit: NASA

With Starliner flight director Chloe Mehring at the helm and Boeing engineers on console monitoring the spacecraft’s systems, flight controllers commanded the sequential firing of 27 RCS thrusters.

Read More: ➡️ Boeing

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

 

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

 

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA, Boeing Continue Data Analysis for Crew Flight Test Evaluation

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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. Photo credit: NASA

NASA and Boeing teams continue analyzing data from recent ground and spacecraft testing as they evaluate the Starliner spacecraft’s propulsion system during NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission.

Teams are taking their time to analyze the results of recent docked hot-fire testing, finalize flight rationale for the spacecraft’s integrated propulsion system, and confirm system reliability ahead of Starliner’s return to Earth from the International Space Station.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

 

 

[Grim Reaper 6]

The stranded Boeing Starliner spacecraft is now delaying SpaceX's planned Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) — and NASA is considering scrapping the spacecraft's crewed return flight to Earth as more details about Starliner's malfunctions come to light..

The delay, which moves the launch of the Crew-9 mission from Aug. 18 to no earlier than Sept. 24, "allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test," NASA wrote in a blog updateon Tuesday (Aug. 6).

The update has arrived at a fraught time for NASA and Boeing. The Crew-9 members, who are scheduled to replace the current Crew-8 aboard the ISS, cannot arrive at the station until a free docking port opens up. The preferred Harmony module is currently being occupied by the Starliner spacecraft, which has been stuck on the ISS since June..

https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/stranded-starliner-delays-another-mission-to-iss-could-return-without-crew

[noon]

Boeing is such a hot mess.

[Shadowsfall]

@Waspie_Dwarf…..are the astronauts really stranded ….im reading conflicting stories….

[Waspie_Dwarf]

18 minutes ago, Shadowsfall said:

@Waspie_Dwarf…..are the astronauts really stranded ….im reading conflicting stories….

@Shadowsfall I've taken the liberty of moving your post to a more active topic on the subject.

No, they aren't stranded. In an emergency they would return home in the Starliner.

There is a very slight risk that the thrusters on Starliner could fail. This would prevent the craft from orientating itself correctly for re-entry. The question that NASA is trying to find an answer to is whether this slight risk infringes their safety limits. That is not clear and is apparently at matter of some debate within NASA. A final decision will be made by the end of the month. If it decided that the extra risk is within acceptable limits the two astronauts will return to Earth in Starliner as originally planned. If not then they will return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Starliner will return without a crew.

If NASA chose the second option it comes with its own set of problems. They can not return on the Crew Dragon currently docked to the ISS. The pressure suits for Dragon are incompatible with Starliner and vice versa. Butch and Sunni would need suits to be sent up to them. The plan is that the next Crew Dragon would launch with only 2 crew instead of 2. Sunni and Butch would replace the bumped astronauts as members of ISS Expedition 72 and would remain onboard the ISS until that crew rotation finishes in February. The suits would be sent up on this Crew Dragon.

There are, however, risks attached to sending the Starliner home uncrewed. The vehicle is more than capable of this and has already done so twice. However, as this was not part of the original flight plan, the software isn't configured for this. A sofware patch would need to be sent to the Starliner. There is also the problem that if the thrusters failed whilst the vehicle was undocking it could collide with the space station.

NASA are taking their time coming to a decision, and that's a good thing. They are weighing up all the possibilities and will come to a conclusion based on all available data.

The Starliner has issues, but the crew are not stranded.

[Shadowsfall]

2 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

@Shadowsfall I've taken the liberty of moving your post to a more active topic on the subject.

No, they aren't stranded. In an emergency they would return home in the Starliner.

There is a very slight risk that the thrusters on Starliner could fail. This would prevent the craft from orientating itself correctly for re-entry. The question that NASA is trying to find an answer to is whether this slight risk infringes their safety limits. That is not clear and is apparently at matter of some debate within NASA. A final decision will be made by the end of the month. If it decided that the extra risk is within acceptable limits the two astronauts will return to Earth in Starliner as originally planned. If not then they will return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Starliner will return without a crew.

If NASA chose the second option it comes with its own set of problems. They can not return on the Crew Dragon currently docked to the ISS. The pressure suits for Dragon are incompatible with Starliner and vice versa. Butch and Sunni would need suits to be sent up to them. The plan is that the next Crew Dragon would launch with only 2 crew instead of 2. Sunni and Butch would replace the bumped astronauts as members of ISS Expedition 72 and would remain onboard the ISS until that crew rotation finishes in February. The suits would be sent up on this Crew Dragon.

There are, however, risks attached to sending the Starliner home uncrewed. The vehicle is more than capable of this and has already done so twice. However, as this was not part of the original flight plan, the software isn't configured for this. A sofware patch would need to be sent to the Starliner. There is also the problem that if the thrusters failed whilst the vehicle was undocking it could collide with the space station.

NASA are taking their time coming to a decision, and that's a good thing. They are weighing up all the possibilities and will come to a conclusion based on all available data.

The Starliner has issues, but the crew are not stranded.

Thanks Waspie…..space exploration is not without risk as I’m sure these astronauts are well aware off….hopefully NASA make the right decision and the crew return safely…thanks again Waspie….

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA Leaders Discuss Review Process for Starliner Crew Flight Test

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The Starliner spacecraft on NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above the Mediterranean Sea. Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s human spaceflight management team provided a media update Aug. 14 on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test at the International Space Station. The group, including the Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox, highlighted the role safety plays as a core value at NASA and how safety guides the decision-making process for the mission.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

FAQ: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Return Status

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Editor’s note: This article was updated Aug. 20, 2024, to reflect the latest information from NASA’s Office of Communications.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the orbiting laboratory on June 6 aboard the Boeing Starliner after lifting off on June 5 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

During Starliner’s flight to the space station, engineers noticed some of the spacecraft’s thrusters did not perform as expected and several leaks in Starliner’s helium system also were observed. Engineering teams at NASA and Boeing have since conducted several thruster tests and in-depth data reviews to better understand the spacecraft. While engineers work to resolve technical issues before Starliner’s return to Earth, the astronaut duo have been working with the Expedition 71 crew, performing scientific research and maintenance activities.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA, Boeing Chart Course for Starliner Return Review

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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

Engineering and spaceflight specialists from NASA and Boeing continue data analysis ahead of a decision this week on the path forward for the Starliner spacecraft’s return from the International Space Station.

NASA’s decision on whether to return Starliner to Earth with astronauts aboard is expected no earlier than Saturday, Aug. 24 at the conclusion of an agency-level review chaired by Ken Bowersox, the associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. The agency flight readiness review is where any formal dissents are presented and reconciled.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA Decides to Bring Starliner Spacecraft Back to Earth Without Crew 

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NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and leadership host a live news conference on Saturday, Aug. 24 at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to give a status update about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.

Credit: NASA

NASA will return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the spacecraft, the agency announced Saturday. The uncrewed return allows NASA and Boeing to continue gathering testing data on Starliner during its upcoming flight home, while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew.

Wilmore and Williams, who flew to the International Space Station in June aboard NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, have been busy supporting station research, maintenance, and Starliner system testing and data analysis, among other activities.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

[pellinore]

Two astronauts who are trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) will come home to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, Nasa said on Saturday.

Starliner’s propulsion system suffered a series of glitches in the first 24 hours of its flight to the ISS, triggering months of cascading delays.

Five of its 28 thrusters failed and it sprang several leaks of helium, which is used to pressurise the thrusters.

In a rare reshuffling of Nasa’s astronaut operations, the two astronauts are now expected to return in February 2025 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft due to launch next month as part of a routine astronaut rotation mission.

Nasa astronauts trapped on space station will return in SpaceX vehicle next year (archive.ph)

Edited August 24 by pellinore

[Jon the frog]

On 8/24/2024 at 5:40 PM, pellinore said:

Two astronauts who are trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) will come home to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, Nasa said on Saturday.

Starliner’s propulsion system suffered a series of glitches in the first 24 hours of its flight to the ISS, triggering months of cascading delays.

Five of its 28 thrusters failed and it sprang several leaks of helium, which is used to pressurise the thrusters.

In a rare reshuffling of Nasa’s astronaut operations, the two astronauts are now expected to return in February 2025 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft due to launch next month as part of a routine astronaut rotation mission.

Nasa astronauts trapped on space station will return in SpaceX vehicle next year (archive.ph)

Boeing is turning into a running joke...

[pellinore]

3 hours ago, Jon the frog said:

Boeing is turning into a running joke...

A bit of a deadly joke: they forgot to seal a door, forgot to update their pilot manuals, and skimp on wiring on their airliners leading to what, 400 deaths?  Not the sort of company that should dabble in rocket science.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

22 minutes ago, pellinore said:

A bit of a deadly joke: they forgot to seal a door, forgot to update their pilot manuals, and skimp on wiring on their airliners leading to what, 400 deaths?  Not the sort of company that should dabble in rocket science.

They are hardly, "dabbling", they have been at the forefront of rocket science since before Elon Musk was born. They are having problems at the moment, but to concentrate on the Starliner at the exclusion of the rest of their space portfolio is as short sighted as concentrating on the 737MAX and claiming that Boeing are "dabbling" in the aircraft industry.

[pellinore]

4 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

They are hardly, "dabbling", they have been at the forefront of rocket science since before Elon Musk was born. They are having problems at the moment, but to concentrate on the Starliner at the exclusion of the rest of their space portfolio is as short sighted as concentrating on the 737MAX and claiming that Boeing are "dabbling" in the aircraft industry.

Well, it will only be two deaths this time, so that is an improvement on their record over the last few years.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

1 minute ago, pellinore said:

Well, it will only be two deaths this time, so that is an improvement on their record over the last few years.

How to say that you don't have the vaguest clue what you are talking about without actually saying you don't have the vaguest clue what you are talking about!!

It will be ZERO deaths this time, unless the SpaceX capsule returning them home has a problem. The problems with Starliner have lead to a slightly increased risk of a problem during the undocking phase of the mission. The problem is well understood and will almost certainly not reappear. NASA are not prepared to take the slightly increased risk and so are returning Butch and Suni on a Crew Dragon. The Starliner will almost certainly make a successful landing... as it has already done TWICE.

[pellinore]

5 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

How to say that you don't have the vaguest clue what you are talking about without actually saying you don't have the vaguest clue what you are talking about!!

It will be ZERO deaths this time, unless the SpaceX capsule returning them home has a problem. The problems with Starliner have lead to a slightly increased risk of a problem during the undocking phase of the mission. The problem is well understood and will almost certainly not reappear. NASA are not prepared to take the slightly increased risk and so are returning Butch and Suni on a Crew Dragon. The Starliner will almost certainly make a successful landing... as it has already done TWICE.

You've been saying 'they are not stranded' for about 6 months, after about three attempts to get them down. Now it is hoped they will get down next year. It seems wicked to say, but they have as much hope of surviving as the passengers on that superyacht off Italy or the Titanic submersible- we all hope for the best, but things are not looking good. Slight problems are okay when you have an engine problem on the motorway, more of a problem when you are in space or a mile under the sea. I wish them the best, ofc, I'm just being realistic.

[Jon the frog]

23 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

They are hardly, "dabbling", they have been at the forefront of rocket science since before Elon Musk was born. They are having problems at the moment, but to concentrate on the Starliner at the exclusion of the rest of their space portfolio is as short sighted as concentrating on the 737MAX and claiming that Boeing are "dabbling" in the aircraft industry.

They have done great stuff in the past for sure but now they need a big makeover internally, even their new 777x is going nowhere. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/08/21/boeing-777x-test-flight-grounding/74887075007/

Something not working out in multiple department, they need to figure it out. The change from an engineer leaded company to an accountant one after merger is probably a big source of the problem.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gautammukunda/2024/02/22/let-the-engineers-lead-america-needs-boeing-to-be-great/

With the pedigree they have, they could find their way if they decide to do it but they need to sort out things. 

Edited August 28 by Jon the frog