Todd Burch
14-Year Member
I've just never heard of a spacecraft/rocket launch being performed with issues known prior to launch that is also carrying humans onboard.
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Boeing Starliner First Crewed Launch
- Thread starter Cosmacelf
- Start date
Eric Berger:After a drama-filled day, Boeing’s Starliner finally finds its way
So logically it then follows that:
Just as Shakespeare put it:
Moon, sun, whatever.
He seems to be saying that they're going to have another crewed test flight, perhaps because they know that NASA is going to require one. So if it's going to happen, make it a part of the plan. Spoken like politicians.
And apparently that thruster issue is not new... they saw a similar failure previously, and the fix didn't work. They believe it to be software.
adiggs
Well-Known Member
Read the Boeing spokesman quote at the end of the article and I'm thinking "space is hard - there are no small problems. Especially when it has to do with propulsion".
I do hope they figure it out and start doing their 6 contracted missions. Success on their part will provide NASA and the rest of the industry two points for comparison for companies that have gotten through the development and into the production / operation on this commercial crewed flight contract. I figure that at bare minimum it'll help themselves as well as other companies do a better job with their bids. We want the companies to be successful, to make money, and expand capability to get to space.
I do hope they figure it out and start doing their 6 contracted missions. Success on their part will provide NASA and the rest of the industry two points for comparison for companies that have gotten through the development and into the production / operation on this commercial crewed flight contract. I figure that at bare minimum it'll help themselves as well as other companies do a better job with their bids. We want the companies to be successful, to make money, and expand capability to get to space.
Well, I doubt it'll include Boeing.
It'll fall to SpaceX, Blue Origin, Firefly, Stoke, and so on. There are lots of companies that think they can do it right.
Boeing aerospace has no chance of being successful in a fixed price environment, and as the quote @JB47394 posted makes clear, Boeing has admitted that. But the fixed price environment is here to stay because SpaceX has demonstrated it can work and there are massive cost savings. Other commercial space companies will also succeed in the future.
It’s a new era. If Boeing can complete their six contracted crew flights that is all they will do and then they will end the Starliner program because they will have lost billions on it. But I’m not convinced they will be able to complete their contract.
I am betting that Boeing will find an elegant and somewhat face saving way to end the contract without completing all the flights. They could probably do 3 or 4 human flights and then pay SpaceX to fulfill the remaining seats and lose less money. However, I don't think that qualifies as "somewhat face saving".
I temper that with the fact that the only going concern in private spaceflight right now is SpaceX, and that's a private company. We can't see their financials, and we don't know what makes the company viable. They were a first mover. They're building out Starlink, and that's providing them with a lot of operating revenue. Every spaceflight company can't put up a satellite constellation. Every spaceflight company can't have the financial backing of an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos. It's interesting that Jeff is also planning to put up a satellite constellation, but he's doing it through Amazon, not Blue Origin.
So I'd say that we don't know what the recipe is to have a successful spaceflight company. There may only be sufficient business for one, particularly in manned spaceflight, despite the enthusiasm, skill and determination of other up-and-coming companies. They're already complaining about being shouldered out by SpaceX. Is SpaceX being anticompetitive, or simply trying to survive in a tight business environment?
Dave Calhoun may be right on target that an American corporation cannot operate on fixed-price contracts because the US Government doesn't pay enough to make it worth a corporation's time. It may only be practical for billionaire-backed enterprises. There are two of those, and they're run by middle ages men. Will it all grind to a halt in 20 or 30 years? Elon will be 72-82 and Jeff will be 80-90.
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A fifth helium leak, albeit a small one.
spacenews.com
To put things into perspective:
Fifth helium leak detected on Starliner
NASA confirmed that Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has suffered a fifth, although minor, helium leak in its propulsion system.
spacenews.com
To put things into perspective:
While these are manageable, the problem is that they reduce the ability to manage other small issues. Ie they erode the margin of safety of the entire mission. These leaks require manual interventions, turning on and off valves and even manually docking the ship to the ISS, all of which take time away from being able to do other things, and increase the risk of performing these manual adjustments incorrectly.A fifth helium leak, albeit a small one.
Fifth helium leak detected on Starliner
NASA confirmed that Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has suffered a fifth, although minor, helium leak in its propulsion system.
To put things into perspective:
assess piloting using the forward window?
Well they had to manually fly the ship to dock so I guess this means they have to manually undock as well. Hopefully that’s all it means. Sounds like their software can’t handle anything other than pristine conditions and the ship is very much not in that state right now.
Well they had to manually fly the ship to dock so I guess this means they have to manually undock as well. Hopefully that’s all it means. Sounds like their software can’t handle anything other than pristine conditions and the ship is very much not in that state right now.
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