It's Sounding Like Boeing's Starliner May Have Failed
Boeing's Starliner faces challenges with two astronauts stranded for nearly two months. SpaceX may conduct a rescue, raising concerns about Starliner's viability and NASA's oversight amid significant financial losses.
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Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is facing significant challenges, with two astronauts stranded in space for nearly two months due to technical issues. An unnamed source indicated that there is over a 50% chance the astronauts will be rescued by a SpaceX Dragon capsule, a scenario that is increasingly likely. NASA has been more reserved in its public statements, contrasting with earlier confidence in Starliner's capabilities. A NASA spokesperson confirmed that the agency is exploring all options for the safe return of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams but has not made any final decisions.
The Starliner project has been plagued by delays and technical problems, leading to substantial financial losses for Boeing, estimated at around $1.6 billion. Despite these issues, NASA proceeded with Starliner's first crewed mission in June, which encountered further complications, including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. Signs suggest that SpaceX is preparing for a potential rescue mission, as indicated by NASA's recent funding for an emergency response study with SpaceX.
If SpaceX is authorized to conduct the rescue, it could severely undermine the Starliner program, raising questions about the $5.8 billion invested in it. The situation calls for scrutiny regarding NASA's oversight of the Starliner development process, especially in light of SpaceX's more reliable and cost-effective Dragon capsule.
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14 commentsI am more interested what this does to a programme mired in cost overruns, delays and failure. In an election year. Mechanically, you would think this problem with helium leaks is fixable. Politically, this may be the straw which breaks the camels back.
And for the same reason: political and business pressure.
It is also worth noting that the two extra people are eating and breathing (hopefully) and using other resources that were not budgeted for.
It is not a problem short term. ISS is supposed to have supplies for 3 or 6 months (I cant remember which).
But this will mean that the next supply shipment needs to be heavier than budgeted for.
I do think that it will be quite expensive if they have to re-do the crew flight test - there'll be a substantial delay while they address the failures and Boeing will have to eat the cost of a full Starliner cycle (including a new service module) along with an Atlas V. I can't tell if the potential profit of the other operational missions is worth it or not in that case.
2. From what I understand, Boeing and NASA believe that the cause of the thrusters malfunctioning and the helium leaks is a combination of exposure to corrosive propellant (NTO/MMH) and the heating effect of the "doghouse" which is an insulated structure on the side of the service module that houses many thrusters and is insulated to protect the systems from low temperatures by being exposed to the vacuum of space.
3. IMO, most of Starliner's failures have stemmed from a reluctance from Boeing to embrace integrated hardware-in-the-loop testing. Instead they seem to rely on component level testing and analysis. The problem with that approach, of course, is that it's pretty bad at catching unknown unknowns.
If Boeing had opted for a in-flight abort test (like SpaceX) instead of doing a pad abort test, they would probably have caught the timer issue that plagued OFT-1.
Likewise, if they had fueled up Starliner and let it sit for an amount of time that is likely to occur pre-launch, they would have caught the valve corrosion issues that delayed OFT-2.
You can see some of the details about the doghouse here[1]. As you can see, it appears like all of the testing was done with the insulation off and many of the systems stripped out of the doghouse. It seems likely that this overheating issue would have been caught much earlier if they had conducted more integrated testing.
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1. https://www.reddit.com/r/Starliner/comments/1eiggns/boeing_c...
I often find it fascinating to ponder that most all atoms on earth have been here a very long time and will stay around for a very long time. (I think).
When I drink a glass of water, I figure atoms making up this specific water has probably been through the cycle of digestive systems and plant millions of times. and yet it is wet, tasty and safe.
IIS is a closed system. In theory all the atoms remain. Currently they do recycle urine.
What would be involved in breaking down fecal matter far enough that something nutritious could be recovered and reused after a proper and safe process.
There has to be a lot of useful atoms available in it.
Presumably, the energy required to do anything like this would make it entirely impossible.
Boeing happened
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