Malcolm Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 sadly in the Boeing ...... current S.O.P> SA year behind and $1.5 billion over budget: Timeline shows Boeing Starliner struggles and scrubscrubbed launches for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, built to send a pair of astronauts to the International Space Station, have become a regular event recently. The June 1 launch of the Starliner to transport two NASA astronauts, and former Navy pilots, Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, to and from the ISS, was halted a few minutes from liftoff and a June 2 launch window bypassed. Now, as of Tuesday afternoon, NASA was looking to attempt a launch on Wednesday, June 5, at 10:52 a.m. ET. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. This comes after several delays including launches scrubbed in May due to technical issues including an oxygen leak and a helium leak from the capsule's propulsion system. Boeing won NASA contract in 2014 These recent delays aren't the only challenges Boeing has faced in getting Starliner into space since NASA awarded it $4.2 billion as part of the space agency's goal of developing private industry partners to transport astronauts to and from the space station. At the time, competitor SpaceX got $2.6 billion. Each companies' funding has grown to $4.8 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively, according to NASA. Related video: VIDEO: NASA, Boeing set for 3rd attempt at Starliner crew flight test (WFTV Orlando) And the first ever Starliner launch with astronauts is expected Loaded: 7.92% Play Current Time 0:00 / Duration 2:31 Quality Settings Captions Fullscreen WFTV Orlando VIDEO: NASA, Boeing set for 3rd attempt at Starliner crew flight test Unmute 0 View on Watch While SpaceX has reliably been transporting astronauts and supplies to the ISS, Boeing's project is years behind schedule and has racked up $1.5 billion in unplanned development costs, Reuters reported. The Boeing Starliner remains grounded: See the challenges that have delayed its launch Here's a timeline of Boeing and its Starliner program. Timeline: Boeing Starliner launch delays and other events June 1, 2024: Launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida – with astronauts Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on board – scrubbed when the computer ground launch sequencer did not load properly. May 14, 2024: Starliner crewed launch set for May 17 scrubbed because of a helium leak in the service module. May 6, 2024: Starliner's first crewed launch attempt scrubbed because of a faulty oxygen relief valve, NASA said. June 1, 2023: Boeing scraps July 21 first crewed flight after realizing adhesive tape on craft was flammable. Aug 25, 2022: Boeing announces early 2023 target for first manned Starliner mission. May 25, 2022: Starliner spacecraft lands in New Mexico after successful second unmanned mission to International Space Station. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft made its first connection to the International Space Station on May 20, 2022.© Boeing May 20, 2022: Starliner docks with ISS for the first time, Boeing reports. The unmanned spacecraft launched on May 19, 2022 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Aug. 4, 2021: Starliner's unmanned launch to the ISS is delayed to examine the cause of the unexpected valve position indications on its propulsion system, NASA said. July 29, 2021: A space station mishap prompts NASA to postpone Starliner's planned July 28 launch. Oct. 7, 2020: Chris Ferguson, the chief astronaut for Starliner crewed flight to the ISS, steps down from the job, citing family priorities. Jan. 7, 2020: NASA and Boeing investigate software glitches that prevented Starliner capsule from reaching the ISS. Dec. 20, 2019: Uncrewed Starliner launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station but fails to make orbit needed to dock with the ISS. It successfully descended Dec. 22, 2019 in New Mexico, NASA said. Nov. 4, 2019: Boeing says one of three parachutes failed to open during a crucial unmanned test of the Starliner. January 25, 2017: Boeing unveils lighter spacesuits for Starliner crew, NASA said. Sept. 4, 2015: Boeing unveils the assembly plant where Starliner spacecraft will be built. Sept. 16, 2014: NASA awards Boeing up to $4.2 billion – SpaceX got $2.6 billion – to launch crews to the International Space Station. April 3, 2012: Boeing had already begun working on its commercial spacecraft program, successfully completing a helicopter-aided parachute drop test of the craft on this day in Nevada, Space.com reported. October 2011: Boeing wraps up wind-tunnel tests on a scale version of what would become Starliner, Space.com reported. 1 / 25 ©Handout, Getty Images NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth on July 12, 2023 in space. The young stars at the center of many of these disks are similar in mass to the Sun, or smaller. The heftiest in this image is the star S1, which appears amid a glowing cave it is carving out with its stellar winds in the lower half of the image. The lighter-colored gas surrounding S1 consists of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a family of carbon-based molecules that are among the most common compounds found in space. These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample wide and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. See more Boeing looks for success after bumpy 2024 A successful Starliner mission could help Boeing rebound in the public eye from ongoing issues with its 737 Max jets, including the grounding of the planes after an Alaska Airlines 737 Max lost a door plug during a flight in January. “It’s been hugely embarrassing for Boeing,” Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Wired in May. “It fits in with the general narrative of Boeing having lost its way." Boeing is a longtime NASA contractor, having collaborated on the Saturn V rocket in the Apollo program and the Space Shuttle program, according to Space.com. Contributing: Reuters; Brooke Edwards, Jamie Groh and Rick Neale of Florida Today. Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider. What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A year behind and $1.5 billion over budget: Timeline shows Boeing Starliner struggles and scrubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Launch successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Boeing Starliner team detects new helium leaks en route to space station Boeing's Starliner capsule lifts off Wednesday atop an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a mission to the International Space Station.© John Raoux/AP Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. After a successful launch that was a decade in the making, Boeing’s Starliner mission is navigating new issues en route to the International Space Station, according to NASA. The space agency said late Wednesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that two additional helium leaks had been detected on the vehicle. One helium leak had been discovered prior to launch and deemed acceptable. “Helium is used in spacecraft thruster systems to allow the thrusters to fire and is not combustible or toxic,” according to Boeing. As of Thursday morning, two of the three leaks have been corrected, according to a live NASA broadcast. The leak is not posing a safety risk and there helium in reserve, according to the broadcast. Starliner is still expected to dock at the space station at 12:15 p.m. ET, according to a post from the orbiting lab’s official account on X. NASA will began live coverage of the docking process on its website starting at 9:30 a.m. ET. Mission managers polled “go” for rendezvous and docking with the space station, and the leaks are not expected to impact docking, according to the broadcast. “During all of Starliner’s rendezvous and proximity operations, we’ll keep those propellant manifolds open, but they’ll stay open until docking. Starliner’s currently maintaining plenty of helium reserves,” Boeing aerospace engineer Jim May confirmed Thursday morning in a social media post on X shared by Boeing. “Currently the helium leak is not a safety issue for the crew, the vehicle or the mission.” If all goes according to plan, the hatch between the space station and Starliner will open around 2 p.m. ET, and Wilmore and Williams will be welcomed at 2:20 p.m. ET by the crew of seven cosmonauts and astronauts already aboard the station. Late night leaks Just as astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams were about to go to sleep Wednesday night, mission control informed them that they needed to shut down two valves due to the new helium leaks. “Teams have identified three helium leaks on the spacecraft. One of these was previously discussed before flight along with a management plan,” NASA shared in the post. “The other two are new since the spacecraft arrived on orbit. Two of the affected helium valves have been closed and the spacecraft remains stable.” A related exchange had taken place earlier on the NASA broadcast. “Looks like we picked up a couple more helium leaks,” mission control told the astronauts, as heard on the broadcast. Controllers then walked the crew through the plan to shut down the valves. “Butch, I’m sorry. We’re still getting the story together,” mission control replied. “We are ready to … find out exactly what you mean by picked up another helium leak, so give it to us,” Wilmore told them. NASA and Boeing determined the crew was safe and told the duo to go to sleep while they continue to look at the data. The crew was supposed to sleep for nine hours, but the troubleshooting effort cut into an hour of rest time. “We have some issues to watch overnight when in regards to the helium leaks that was just brought up, and we have a lot of smart people down here on the ground that are going to take a look at this stuff and keep an eye on it, but the vehicle is in a configuration right now where they’re safe to fly,” Boeing aerospace engineer Brandon Burroughs said on the NASA broadcast. Historic launch Starliner’s highly anticipated voyage lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket Wednesday at 10:52 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The historic launch marked the first time the spacecraft has carried a crew to space. The mission, known as the Crew Flight Test, is the culmination of Boeing’s efforts to develop a spacecraft to rival SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and expand the United States’ options for ferrying astronauts to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The federal agency’s initiative aims to foster collaboration with private industry partners. The flight marks only the sixth inaugural journey of a crewed spacecraft in US history, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson noted in a May news conference. “It started with Mercury, then with Gemini, then with Apollo, the space shuttle, then (SpaceX’s) Dragon — and now Starliner,” Nelson said. Williams also made history as the first woman to fly aboard such a mission. “This is another milestone in this extraordinary history of NASA,” Nelson said Wednesday after the launch. “And I want to give my personal congratulations to the whole team that went through a lot of trial and tribulation. But they had perseverance and that’s what we do at NASA. We don’t launch until it’s right.” After spending just over 24 hours traveling to the space station, Williams and Wilmore are expected to spend about eight days living in the orbiting laboratory, but it is unclear whether the helium leaks will alter that timeline. Just after Wednesday’s launch, NASA officials shared that Williams and Wilmore may enjoy a slightly extended stay aboard the station. The earliest possible landing date is June 14. “We’ve got a prescribed landing date that goes along with this launch date, but I just want to emphasize that nobody should get too excited about that date,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. “We have to have a lot of conditions that are just right before we bring the Starliner home and we’re going to wait till the conditions are right and we’ve accomplished the test objectives before we do that.” Weeks of troubleshooting A number of issues caused the previous crewed launch attempts, on May 6 and June 1, to be scrubbed. Two hours prior to the launch attempt on May 6, engineers identified an issue with a valve on the second stage, or upper portion, of the Atlas V rocket, which was built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The entire stack, including the rocket and spacecraft, was rolled back from the launchpad for testing and repairs. Teams also worked through a small helium leak within the spacecraft service module and a “design vulnerability” in the propulsion system. After troubleshooting the initial helium leak in May, mission specialists found it did not pose a threat to the flight. During the launch countdown Wednesday morning, teams monitored the leak and reported no issues. Starliner was just 3 minutes and 50 seconds from liftoff Saturday afternoon, when an automatic hold was triggered by the ground launch sequencer, or the computer that launches the rocket. United Launch Alliance technicians and engineers assessed the ground support equipment over the weekend, examining three large computers housed inside a shelter at the base of the launchpad. Each computer is the same, providing triple redundancy to ensure the safe launch of crewed missions. Engineers isolated the issue that halted Saturday’s launch attempt to a single ground power supply within one of the computers, which provides power to the computer cards responsible for key countdown events, according to an update shared by NASA. They removed the computer and replaced it with a spare. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 More Rocket Science. SpaceX's mega rocket completes its fourth test flight from Texas without exploding Story by Marcia Dunn • 15m • 3 min read SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. The Starship is scheduled to launch Thursday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)© The Associated Press SpaceX’s mega Starship rocket completed its first full test flight Thursday, returning to Earth without exploding after blasting off from Texas. The previous three test flights ended in explosions of the rocket and the spacecraft. This time, both managed to splash down in a controlled fashion. The world’s largest and most powerful rocket — almost 400 feet (121 meters) tall — was empty as it soared above the Gulf of Mexico and headed east on a flight to the Indian Ocean. SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. The Starship is scheduled to launch Thursday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)© The Associated Press Minutes after Thursday morning’s liftoff, the first-stage booster separated from the spacecraft and splashed into the gulf precisely as planned, after firing its engines. An hour later, live views showed parts of the spacecraft breaking away during the intense heat of reentry, but it remained intact enough to transmit data all the way to its targeted splashdown site in the Indian Ocean. Onlookers watch as SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)© The Associated Press THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. SpaceX’s mega Starship rocket blasted off from Texas on Thursday, the fourth test flight for the spaceship that NASA and Elon Musk are counting on to get humanity to the moon and Mars. The world’s largest and most powerful rocket — almost 400 feet (121 meters) tall — was empty as it soared above the Gulf of Mexico and headed east on a planned hourlong flight. The spacecraft on top was aiming for a half-lap around the planet with a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX was looking to avoid explosions this time by controlling the descents. Minutes after Thursday morning's liftoff, the first-stage booster separated from the spacecraft and splashed into the gulf precisely as planned, after firing its engines. SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. The Starship is scheduled to launch Thursday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)© The Associated Press “And we have splashdown!” SpaceX launch commentator Kate Tice announced from Mission Control at company headquarters in California. It was a critical milestone in the company's plan to eventually return Starship’s Super Heavy booster to its launch site for reuse. SpaceX came close to avoiding explosion in March, but lost contact with the spacecraft as it careened out of space and blew up short of its goal. The booster also ruptured in flight, a quarter-mile above the gulf. Last year’s two test flights ended in explosions shortly after blasting off from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. The first one cratered the pad at Boca Chica Beach and hurled debris for thousands of feet (meters). SpaceX upgraded the software and made some rocket-flyback changes to improve the odds. The Federal Aviation Administration signed off Tuesday on this fourth demo, saying all safety requirements had been met. SpaceX's mega rocket Starship is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. The Starship is scheduled to launch Thursday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)© The Associated Press Starship is designed to be fully reusable. That’s why SpaceX wants to control the booster’s entry into the gulf and the spacecraft’s descent into the Indian Ocean — it’s intended as practice for planned future landings. Nothing is being recovered from Thursday’s flight. A bird takes flight past SpaceX's mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)© The Associated Press NASA has ordered a pair of Starships for two moon-landing missions by astronauts, on tap for later this decade. Each moon crew will rely on NASA’s own rocket and capsule to leave Earth, but meet up with Starship in lunar orbit for the ride down to the surface. SpaceX already is selling tourist trips around the moon. The first private lunar customer, a Japanese tycoon, pulled out of the trip with his entourage last week, citing the oft-delayed schedule. Related video: SpaceX's 4th Starship Flight To Stream Exclusively On X As Elon Musk Consolidates Tech Empire (Benzinga) Loaded: 34.10% Play Current Time 0:02 / Duration 0:52 Quality Settings Captions Fullscreen Benzinga SpaceX's 4th Starship Flight To Stream Exclusively On X As Elon Musk Consolidates Tech Empire Unmute 0 View on Watch SpaceX’s founder and CEO has grander plans: Musk envisions fleets of Starships launching people and the infrastructure necessary to build a city on Mars. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Not good news for Boeing. I wonder if the thruster problem will have a negative effect for their return flight? Boeing’s new capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, delayed by last-minute thruster trouble that almost derailed the docking for this first test flight with astronauts. The 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) linkup culminated more than a day of continuing drama for Boeing’s astronaut flight debut. The Starliner capsule already had one small helium leak when it rocketed into orbit with two NASA astronauts Wednesday. Boeing and NASA managers were confident they could manage the propulsion system despite the problem and that more leaks were unlikely. But just hours into the flight, two more leaks cropped up. Later, four of the capsule's 28 thrusters went down. NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams managed to restart three of them, providing enough safety margin to proceed. By then, Starliner had passed up the first docking opportunity and circled the world for an extra hour alongside the station before moving in. It was not immediately known whether the thrusters problems were related to the earlier leaks. Earlier in the day, before the thrusters malfunctioned, Boeing spokesman Jim May said the leaks posed no safety issues for the astronauts or the mission. May said the capsule holds plenty of helium reserves to make up for what's lost. The propulsion system will be disabled once the capsule is docked at the space station since the thrusters will not be needed then, he noted. Helium is used to pressurize the fuel lines of Starliner’s thrusters, which are essential for maneuvering. Before liftoff, engineers devised a plan to work around any additional leaks in the system. A faulty rubber seal, no bigger than a shirt button, is believed responsible for the original leak. After the space shuttles retired, NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX’s taxi service began in 2020. Boeing was supposed to start around the same time, but was held up for years by safety concerns and other troubles. Boeing plans to keep Starliner at the space station for at least eight days before guiding it to a landing in the western U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 It will be interesting to see if the capsule comes back next week manned, or unmanned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 William Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut who took Earthrise photo, killed in plane crash Anders died at age 90 in Friday crash Photo of Earth from lunar orbit - Dec 24, 1968, taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders Fri Jun 07, 2024 - Associated Press Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, who took the iconic Earthrise photo, has been killed in a plane crash in Washington state. (NASA) Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90. His son, Greg Anders, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. "The family is devastated," Greg Anders said. "He was a great pilot and we will miss him terribly." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 I know many will say he died doing what he loved, but to still be flying at age 90 seems a little stubborn and selfish to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo32a Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 He was 90 years old, he was never going to survive those g forces, he went out on purpose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Does not bode well for their return, I guess they need to replenish the helium so they can rely on their thrusters...... n the heels of a successful launch last week, the return of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to Earth from the International Space Station has been delayed until at least next week. On June 5, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore made history taking Boeing's Starliner on its maiden crewed mission. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in eastern Florida at 10:52 a.m. EDT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 5 hours ago, Malcolm said: Does not bode well for their return, I guess they need to replenish the helium so they can rely on their thrusters...... n the heels of a successful launch last week, the return of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to Earth from the International Space Station has been delayed until at least next week. On June 5, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore made history taking Boeing's Starliner on its maiden crewed mission. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in eastern Florida at 10:52 a.m. EDT Do you think they are taking the time to arrange alternate transport for the two astronauts meaning they would have the Starliner capsule return empty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted Friday at 06:48 PM Share Posted Friday at 06:48 PM On 6/11/2024 at 1:22 PM, deicer said: Do you think they are taking the time to arrange alternate transport for the two astronauts meaning they would have the Starliner capsule return empty? The latest update is june 22nd. The latest update.https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/technology/boeing-starliner-set-for-june-22-undocking-return-to-earth-nasa-says/ar-BB1oemPf?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W069&cvid=40f8b17e6d5c4fe1aaef530bf1cfe6f7&ei=16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted 18 hours ago Share Posted 18 hours ago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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