Just when you thought the saga of Boeing ’s Starliner programme could n’t get any worse , it just did . The first crew trial flight of Boeing ’s CST-100 Starliner has been check indefinitely due to two serious issue with the gang vehicle meant to transport NASA cosmonaut to the International Space Station ( ISS ) .
The two new refuge fortune were discovered in the preceding week during an in - depth revue of the vehicle . The first has to do with the loading capacity of Starliner ’s three parachutes , which are design to safely land the work party vehicle . The unsuccessful person load limit of the material section on the parachutes is scurvy than expected , mean that if one chute flush it , the remain two would not be able to slow down the Starliner vehicle on its way down to demesne in New Mexico .
The 2d recently discovered issue involve hundreds of feet of protective taping used to cover the wiring harnesses inside the Starliner vehicle , which turn out to be flammable . At this power point , it ’s too former to get rid of the inflammable tape without make more impairment to the fomite . “ It ’s extremely unbelievable that we would go in and cut this taping off , ” Mark Nappi , Boeing Starliner program manager and vice chairman , say newsperson during Thursday ’s briefing . “ So we ’re look at solutions that would provide for essentially another eccentric of swathe over the existing tape measure in the most vulnerable areas that reduces the risk of fervency endangerment . ”
Crew Flight Test vehicle going into the Hazardous Processing Area in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility in April 2023.Photo: Boeing/John Grant
Yikes , that does not sound ideal . It ’s safe to assume that a quite a little more work needs to be done before Starliner is ready to found two spaceman to space , so another launching date will in all likelihood not happen anytime soon . A subsequent uncrewed launch is also not out of the question . “ We are now determining when we will be quick to launch , but predict additional parachute examination , ” Boeing write in astatement . “ We are attached to the Starliner program and are shape intimately with NASA to identify a unexampled launch engagement . ”
There have been numerous other issues that have plagued Boeing ’s Starliner program from the start . The company is under a$4.3 billioncontract with NASA’sCommercial Crew Programto transport astronauts back and forth to the ISS on board Boeing ’s CST-100 Starliner , the same way that NASA ’s other commercial-grade partner SpaceX does using its Dragon condensation . Except SpaceX is already right smart ahead of the game , recently found itssixth crewto the ISS while Boeing still remains at zero . For Boeing , it ’s a fixed - price contract , so the company is having to cover all overage costs .
In May 2022 , Boeing completedthe Orbital Flight Test-2 ( OFT-2 ) , the second uncrewed trial flight of Starliner , setting the degree for a crewed test flight of steps . But OFT-2 was far from double-dyed , with thefailure of a pusher used for orbital maneuvering , in addition to aslew of problem and delaysthat have mar the broadcast from the kickoff .
Boeing ’s Starliner crewed test flight was in the first place schedule for February and then subsequently moved to late April before its latest July launching date . The test flight is think to usher in the concluding process of certify the Starliner spacecraft for regular crewed flights to the space station . At this decimal point , NASA ’s commitment to its commercial better half seems excessive , specially consider the recently exposed condom risks . It ’s not cleared when Starliner will be given the green light for flight , but it should not find anytime soon .
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