Engineers work to open Boeing Starliner's valves as schedule pressures mount Boeing's Starliner CST 100 – aka the Calamity Capsule – continues to remain firmly wedded to Earth as engineers work to resolve a problem with valves in the spacecraft's thruster systems. The valves, which connect to thrusters used for aborts and manoeuvring in orbit, didn't open as designed during the 3 August launch attempt …
It would have a cutting edge autopilot which only occasionally gets confused and flies into mountains.
Oh, and anyone who flew on one would become unbearably smug about it and insist on telling you that it was the future of aviation, and how Musk is amazing.
what a SpaceX aeroplane would be like.
Well, to begin with, there'd be no instruments, indicators or controls. The dashboard will be instead covered with a low quality plastic, looking like seventies' Formica furniture, and have an iPad stuck in the middle. The iPad wouldn't be facing towards the pilot, and it won't be moveable, but all the pilot needs to do is to stop looking out and turn his head towards the iPad (maybe lean back a little). That's ok, because the outside is pretty boring anyway - just clouds and stuff. All the relevant information like attitude or radar is displayed on the iPad, though of course, the screen would be modal, so the controls won't all be available in all modes. However, there's a very good chance the pilot would be able to see the attitude almost immediately (unless the iPad is currently playing music or showing maps, or maybe on the settings screen). Also, for simplicity, there won't be any physical buttons or levers for controlling the plane; instead, the iPad would provide touch controls for flaps and what not, all easily accessible only a few levels of menus down from the main screen.
Boeing since the 1930s slowly became a company that could make just a single type of airplane - and even with that type it tried to keep alive a sixty years old design with software tricks that doomed two planes.
It had to buy McDonnell and others to re-enter markets it lost, and even since then we didn't see great new airplanes.
NASA has form in using hammers.
Alan Bean applied the same technique to the color video camera on Apollo 12, when the picture went out after the camera was accidently pointed at the sun.
116:16:02 Bean: I hit it on the top with my hammer. I figured we didn't have a thing to lose.
https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a12/a12.tvtrbls.html
Looks like Boeing has sneaked in an MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) equivalent into the Starliner !!!
No doubt to make the Starliner handle like a 'Space shuttle' when in orbit.
or
(from wikipedia article)
"In July 2018, a test anomaly was reported in which there was a hypergolic propellant leak due to several faulty abort system valves."
Seems that the issue was solved by 'welding the valves shut' !!!
Not sure how that helps when the abort system may be necessary (it is Boeing after all !!!)
:=)
Before the first launch, parts were tested for each phase of the mission but not tested for a complete mission - each phase one after the other in real time. This time, parts have been tested for the full duration of the mission. What Boeing tried to avoid saying was that the parts were not connected to each other and performed the full duration tests independently.
The type of problem to expect is one that only shows up when everything is connected.
there is every chance that the next flight of the Calamity Capsule could slip toward the end of the year, or even into 2022.
But the solid rocket boosters are only good for 12 months after their five segments have been stacked together. After that they're supposed to destack, re-inspect and restack them. Lots more dollars to blow there if there's a long delay.
This configuration of Altas 5 does have two SRBs on it:
https://www.ulalaunch.com/docs/default-source/launch-booklets/ula_oft2_mob.pdf
(I think Altas 5 can have between 0 and 5 SRBs depending on mission profile)
But I don't know whether there are any "use by" limitations on those ones ...
Edit: Ah yes, here is the upsettingly-asymmetric set of options for the SRBs: https://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av001/020814rocket/a5solids.jpg
correct. Whats more, the people running (?) Boing are not Boeing people. They moved out when Boeing "bought" Lockheed. Lockheed manglement were known for loving bureaucracy, hence the Skunkworks isolation under Kelly Johnson to get things done. We now know why Boeing bought Lockheed, not the other way round.
For a while, going through this article, and the apparent challenge, I though this bird was still high in the sky, but nope, it is on earth.
How can't they sort out this thing which is totally accessible is beyond me. A bit like a car mech taking weeks to sort out an oil pressure problem.
"The challenge now is to get the rest of the valves open and demonstrate the process can be repeated before sending the stack back to the pad for the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 mission."
Ok, so RCA is out of the window then. Just flap it open/close 2-3 times and call it a day. Amazing space science.
At this stage, bearing in mind embarrassment for Boeing as SpaceX have perfected being a space taxi and NASA's white van man.
I would expect the capsule to be on bricks with everything not welded on to have been removed for access to fix this. And an army of engineers all over it 24/7.
Not just staring through an inspection panel now and then.
Boeing just can't get anything right seems like .. and this time it's in the face of the world.
Failures like this are killing what was left of Boeing's reputation .. as far as i am concerned , like for the 737 MAX i would never step a foot in one of them.
Even for free ..
Failures one after the other kind of makes me trust a Pinto more than their capsule.
if they outsourced the building of the capsule to the russians and that one russian guy they have decided to hammer the valves in upside down.... he has previous form in doing that....
Think Proton and an inertial guidance platform that has a big arrow and a sign saying "fit this way only"........
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