Boeing Starliner

Flyaway

Flyaway

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This really should have its own thread, so I have started one.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365363224581988354
View: https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1365363224581988354


NASA says that the assessment of Boeing's safety culture, ordered in the wake of the flawed OFT-1 mission, has been postponed until after OFT-2 because of Covid. That’s a delay of more than a year. The agency says it will complete the review before Boeing’s crewed flight test. 1/
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1365363380765290499
View: https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1365363380765290499


From the statement: “The goal of the OSA is to provide a comprehensive safety assessment through individual employee interviews with a sampling from a cross-section of personnel, including senior managers, mid-level management and supervision, and engineers and technicians...” 2/
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1365363475560726536
View: https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1365363475560726536


“NASA currently is working to determine the best approach for conducting the employee interviews given COVID-19 restrictions to ensure we are moving forward as safely as possible while still gathering the data we need for the assessment.” 3/
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1365363540534697985
View: https://twitter.com/wapodavenport/status/1365363540534697985


“NASA continues to maintain insight into Boeing’s compliance with the agency's safety requirements and processes through normal work activities.” 4/
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1366445760267583496
View: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1366445760267583496

Stich says the OFT-2 Starliner mission is about two weeks behind schedule in part because of lost time to do software work in Houston during last month’s winter storm.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1366895547861377026
View: https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/status/1366895547861377026


The second unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station is not expected to launch before May after the recent winter storm in Texas impacted a facility required for spacecraft software testing. spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/02/boe…
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NASA and Boeing Evaluating Launch Date for Orbital Flight Test-2 – Commercial Crew Program

blogs.nasa.gov blogs.nasa.gov
 
There's no official confirmation of this yet, but another launch slip of Boeing's Orbital Flight 2 mission is coming. @SpaceflightNow has already moved the mission to "Late July" and a source tells me the same. May be due to avionics, but I'm not certain.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1377385340361662467
View: https://twitter.com/SciGuySpace/status/1377385340361662467


https://twitter.com/x/status/1382840718750810116
View: https://twitter.com/free_space/status/1382840718750810116


Reflight of @BoeingSpace CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2)to @Space_Station not expected until Aug-Sept timeframe, says NASA
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[/quote]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1382840132777123842
View: https://twitter.com/stephenclark1/status/1382840132777123842


NASA’s Steve Stich says teams are looking at the August/September timeframe for Boeing’s second Starliner Orbital Flight Test, and the Starliner Crew Flight Test toward the end of this year.
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NASA and Boeing Targeting August/September for Starliner’s Uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 Launch

starlinerupdates.com starlinerupdates.com

NASA and Boeing Targeting August/September for Starliner’s Uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 Launch
April 17, 2021

NASA and Boeing are targeting August/September for the launch of Starliner’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission to the International Space Station and will evaluate options if an earlier launch opportunity becomes available. The current schedule is supported by a space station docking opportunity and the availability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Eastern Range.

Boeing will be mission-ready in May should another launch opportunity arise. The Starliner team has completed all work on the OFT-2 vehicle except for activity to be conducted closer to launch, such as loading cargo and fueling the spacecraft. The team also has submitted all verification and validation paperwork to NASA and is completing all Independent Review Team recommended actions including those that were not mandatory ahead of OFT-2.

Software and Mission Operations teammates in Houston have been hard at work conducting flight software simulations, including end-to-end confidence and integration testing that will serve as a mission dress rehearsal before every future Starliner flight. Boeing expects to conclude all software testing in April and will support the agency’s post-test reviews as needed.

The Starliner team is now preparing for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) to enable the shortest turnaround time possible between flights while maintaining its focus on crew safety. NASA’s CFT astronauts recently suited up and climbed aboard Starliner to perform a fully integrated and powered checkout of the OFT-2 vehicle supported by life support and communications systems. The OFT-2 spacecraft and all systems are nearly identical to those that will fly during Starliner’s first crewed mission, which will be the second flight of that spacecraft.

Safely and sustainably transporting crew and cargo to and from low Earth orbit destinations for NASA and other future customers is the ultimate goal. Boeing is confident in the Starliner vehicle, the team and the missions ahead as the program nears the completion of its development phase.
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Regarding the above as the history of how the launch date has slipped. As of now Steve Stich confirmed that the Aug-Sep time frame during the Space-X post landing crew conference.
 
Well it has to be said: SpaceX won by K.O there. Boeing managed to perform the first unmanned flight ahead of them, but paid a huge price to it.

Boeing is quite lucky NASA wants redundancy aside Dragon 2, otherwise they would be toast. "Plan B" however could be as diverse as a) Orion b) Soyuz c) manned Dreamchaser or d) Starship.

Boeing should really watch their back... "the times they are changing" as sang Dylan a long time ago...
 
18 months has pass by
Boeing for moment bring one excuse after another, why OFT-2 is not happen yet

Covid-19, power lost in Texas and that Docking ports at ISS were blocked by the evil SpaceX with a fleet of Crew Dragon...

I bet the Next excuse will be "weep, weep, we can't launch, we run out Atlas V, we have to make Vulcan Manned-rated, NASA we need more money..."
 
Michel Van said:
18 months has pass by
Boeing for moment bring one excuse after another, why OFT-2 is not happen yet

Covid-19, power lost in Texas and that Docking ports at ISS were blocked by the evil SpaceX with a fleet of Crew Dragon...

I bet the Next excuse will be "weep, weep, we can't launch, we run out Atlas V, we have to make Vulcan Manned-rated, NASA we need more money..."
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Sometimes the best PR advice is 'If you can't say anything good, don't say anything - you'll just draw (the shareholders') attention to your problems'.
 
Rhinocrates said:
Michel Van said:
18 months has pass by
Boeing for moment bring one excuse after another, why OFT-2 is not happen yet

Covid-19, power lost in Texas and that Docking ports at ISS were blocked by the evil SpaceX with a fleet of Crew Dragon...

I bet the Next excuse will be "weep, weep, we can't launch, we run out Atlas V, we have to make Vulcan Manned-rated, NASA we need more money..."
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Sometimes the best PR advice is 'If you can't say anything good, don't say anything - you'll just draw (the shareholders') attention to your problems'.
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That applies to postings as well.
 
Delay again

This time they found issue with a Valve in RCS.
19.5 months have passed since problematic first test flight.
and trouble not stop

While SpaceX launch on 29 august the Third Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS

Source:
arstechnica.com

Starliner delayed again, and its launch window may close soon

“We’re going to let the data lead our work.”…
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
Michel Van said:
Delay again

This time they found issue with a Valve in RCS.
19.5 months have passed since problematic first test flight.
and trouble not stop

While SpaceX launch on 29 august the Third Cargo Dragon 2 flight to the ISS

Source:
arstechnica.com

Starliner delayed again, and its launch window may close soon

“We’re going to let the data lead our work.”…
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
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Also, the first Starship test into "minimal" LEO will probably happen this month. I'm not sure what to call it since won't make one complete orbit of the Earth? Rapid Transit? ;)
 
"Fictional optionally Orbiting Boeing Shit".

Sorry mate, fixed your post.......
 
No idea what is wrong with Boeing the last twenty years, what is with them?
 
Foo Fighter said:
No idea what is wrong with Boeing the last twenty years, what is with them?
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When they merged with McD their corporate culture went to hell. Moving their HQ from Boeing Field to a big money skyscraper in downtown Chicago was the signal that the engineers were no longer in control, and the downward slope began.
 
Putting my thnking cap on, the bottom stair and walking quickly away, at what stage could a government orgranisations step in and tell them to sort their act out? Wot? Not at all? Wow.
 
Moose said:
Foo Fighter said:
No idea what is wrong with Boeing the last twenty years, what is with them?
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When they merged with McD their corporate culture went to hell. Moving their HQ from Boeing Field to a big money skyscraper in downtown Chicago was the signal that the engineers were no longer in control, and the downward slope began.
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Amen, the McD folks have ruined Boeing and are about to run a second company into the ground.
 
Foo Fighter said:
No idea what is wrong with Boeing the last twenty years, what is with them?
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It's been going downhill since Boeing bought McDonnell-Douglas and M-D took over management. That is the opinion of a retired engineering manager.
 
Foo Fighter said:
Putting my thnking cap on, the bottom stair and walking quickly away, at what stage could a government orgranisations step in and tell them to sort their act out? Wot? Not at all? Wow.
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The opportunity for the Government to force change would come if Boeing took a "bailout" style of emergency aid. There was actually momentum in that direction during the MAX saga, but Boeing's leadership decided they weren't going to seek a bailout if such conditions were imposed. If they continue to flail, however, they may end up with a shortage of choices.
 
Moose said:
Foo Fighter said:
No idea what is wrong with Boeing the last twenty years, what is with them?
Click to expand...
When they merged with McD their corporate culture went to hell. Moving their HQ from Boeing Field to a big money skyscraper in downtown Chicago was the signal that the engineers were no longer in control, and the downward slope began.
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It was also the signal that previously, Boeing was an aircraft company. Now it was a financial services conglomerate one of whose revenue streams happened to be aircraft.
 
F-14D said:
It was also the signal that previously, Boeing was an aircraft company. Now it was a financial services conglomerate one of whose revenue streams happened to be aircraft.
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It's an old story. MTV used to be a TV channel all about music videos. The Sci Fi Channel used to be about science fiction, then it turned into a wrestling channel, because that was cheap and profitable.
 
www.parabolicarc.com

Next Boeing Starliner Launch Could be Weeks to Months Away

by Douglas MessierManaging Editor It could take between several weeks and two months for Boeing to work through the valve problems that resulted in the launch scrub of the Starliner spacecraft on Tuesday, a source tells Parabolic Arc. The vehicle will be launched from Florida on an uncrewed...
www.parabolicarc.com www.parabolicarc.com

Dear gosh. I didn't knew OFT-2 situation was THAT bad. Up to two months, WTH ? To think Sierra Nevada Dreamchaser lost CCDEV to Boeing. To think that back in 2007 Kistler was kicked out for Orbital Cygnus in the first round of COTS.

I wonder, could NASA break Boeing CCDEV contract, years later and so close (or far !) from flight ?

I'm no SpaceX fanboy by any mean, but the way things go, Boeing is not only late compared to Dragon 2; Starship is now coming on its heels like a comet...

OFT-2 launch delay happening the same day SpaceX stacked a BFR-Starship for the first time ever. As far as PR / public image go, this is pretty bad !
 
F-14D said:
Moose said:
Foo Fighter said:
No idea what is wrong with Boeing the last twenty years, what is with them?
Click to expand...
When they merged with McD their corporate culture went to hell. Moving their HQ from Boeing Field to a big money skyscraper in downtown Chicago was the signal that the engineers were no longer in control, and the downward slope began.
Click to expand...
It was also the signal that previously, Boeing was an aircraft company. Now it was a financial services conglomerate one of whose revenue streams happened to be aircraft.
Click to expand...
Before the 737-MAX cataclysm, Boeing resisted Airbus extremely well - for twenty years, 1998-2018. And they are still doing well there. But I'm shocked by CTS-100 and OFT-2 troubles.
 
Flyaway said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1424119032484147203
View: https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1424119032484147203


There is no official confirmation, so caveat emptor. But I'm hearing that Boeing is troubleshooting a dozen or more valves as part of its Starliner investigation. Sounds like damage may have been caused by storms while the vehicle was on the pad.
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Not good for Starliner concerning the damage caused by storms while it was out on the pad, I hope that they can fix the damage so they can launch it to the Space Station.
 
At that pace and with a couple more of Russian modules arrivals, it's the space station that could arrive faster to Starliner...
 
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according some sources

The problem Valve lies Inside center of Service Module
Means Starliner has to be removed from Launcher and take apart to replace the Valve,
What according Boeing could take months...

One thing is odd during first Countdown (cancel do Modul Nauka try to run away from ISS)
were no problem with that Valve, i wonder what would happen if that Countdown had go on ?

Boeing got $5 Billion for Starliner and $22 Billion for SLS
and still not manage to run those programs faultlessly
SpaceX got $3 Billion for Crew Dragon and brought 6 Astronauts to ISS

had i not made a prediction about further delays on Starliner in this forum ???

Sources

Commercial Crew Program

blogs.nasa.gov blogs.nasa.gov
arstechnica.com

Starliner delayed again, and its launch window may close soon

“We’re going to let the data lead our work.”…
arstechnica.com arstechnica.com
 
That's... bad. And as I said somewhere, the way things go, Starship may reach orbit before Starliner. Well I just realized typing this, this may happen within the span of this month !
 

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