Engineers are replacing a valve on the rocket that will power the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The launch is now expected no sooner than May 17.
They’ve had two uncrewed flights so far. Both had issues. The first’s issues were so bad that NASA ordered the second (previously unplanned) uncrewed flight. That one had issues too, not quite as bad though.
Also, while their pad abort test was technically a success, it was only barely. Only 2 of the 3 parachutes deployed. You know, the same parachutes used for re-entry. Granted, that system has worked correctly since, and there’s always one-off issues. One-off issues being found are the reason for all the delays.
These are the guys in the industry saying iterative design (like SpaceX) is dangerous, and that apparently taking 2x the budget and 4x the time is the way to make it work the first time safely.
Boeing was the “safe” bet in this competition. They were supposed to have Starliner operational 4 years ago. SpaceX was the one expected to falter, being over budget and late. Instead, the SpaceX Dragon 2 has already made 23 launches (10 cargo deliveries and 13 crew missions) while Starliner still hasn’t made any deliveries or crewed launches yet. They made it to the ISS once, uncrewed, but it needed to be manually docked due to issues.
It really is quite fascinating how much Starliner has dropped the ball on something that was expected to be quick and easy. While these are completely separate teams and systems from the airplane portion of the company, it seems like the overall company culture may be preventing them from actually making good products that are safe.
They’ve had two uncrewed flights so far. Both had issues. The first’s issues were so bad that NASA ordered the second (previously unplanned) uncrewed flight. That one had issues too, not quite as bad though.
Also, while their pad abort test was technically a success, it was only barely. Only 2 of the 3 parachutes deployed. You know, the same parachutes used for re-entry. Granted, that system has worked correctly since, and there’s always one-off issues. One-off issues being found are the reason for all the delays.
These are the guys in the industry saying iterative design (like SpaceX) is dangerous, and that apparently taking 2x the budget and 4x the time is the way to make it work the first time safely.
Boeing was the “safe” bet in this competition. They were supposed to have Starliner operational 4 years ago. SpaceX was the one expected to falter, being over budget and late. Instead, the SpaceX Dragon 2 has already made 23 launches (10 cargo deliveries and 13 crew missions) while Starliner still hasn’t made any deliveries or crewed launches yet. They made it to the ISS once, uncrewed, but it needed to be manually docked due to issues.
It really is quite fascinating how much Starliner has dropped the ball on something that was expected to be quick and easy. While these are completely separate teams and systems from the airplane portion of the company, it seems like the overall company culture may be preventing them from actually making good products that are safe.