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Nikxice
Active Member
Post from December 2019.....In a field of 64, it only takes 1 to screw the pooch. Boeing complexity coming home to roost.
Ars: Boeing is troubleshooting a small helium leak on the Starliner spacecraft
They are not going to physically repair the helium leak. Hmm.
They are not going to physically repair the helium leak. Hmm.
So it remains to be seen whether or not that approach will work.
"Starliner teams are working to resolve a small helium leak detected in the spacecraft’s service module" Said Boeing official in shrilling high pitched voice, "leak is small and do not cause more concern"
Still the best guess. We are definitely at the permanent 2 weeks in the future point. I'm really really glad I'm not those astronauts!
They’ve had their thumbs out hoping to hitch a ride for years now…
This is ULA's secret plan to rack up more miles than starman. Just keep rolling the vehicle out to the launch pad and back.
ars Technica: The first crew launch of Boeing’s Starliner capsule is on hold indefinitely
The odd thing to me is that the helium leak was detected during the May 6 launch attempt but it did not stop the countdown, the Atlas issue did. Supposedly that issue has been resolved. And then:
Yet clearly NASA is so concerned about it that they will no longer commit to a new launch date. It appears to be a more serious problem than they are willing to admit to publicly.
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Sucks to be Boeing right now.
Although admittedly, the aircraft issues largely seem to be their own doing in that they've allowed themselves to go from an "engineering first" company to one run primarily by bean-counters and MBA types.
I wonder how much of that has infected the aerospace side.
(If you never hear from me again after this post critical of Boeing, please contact the authorities)
Although admittedly, the aircraft issues largely seem to be their own doing in that they've allowed themselves to go from an "engineering first" company to one run primarily by bean-counters and MBA types.
I wonder how much of that has infected the aerospace side.
(If you never hear from me again after this post critical of Boeing, please contact the authorities)
Nikxice
Active Member
Was there anybody around who wasn't feeling a bit uneasy living with this helium leak from the get-go? The language bounced around has been a mix of....studying the problem, understanding the leak, getting comfortable with the issue....Jeez, I don't believe SpaceX wouldn't have sat on their hands this long before deciding a course of action.
Nah. Helium is tough to work with, and this sort of thing is apparently standard (thus the "cycle the valve to clear the chatter"). I assume that the complication is in the politics around the flight, and the management structure used. These are delicate times for ULA and Boeing.
Note that ULA doesn't change the state of the propellant load hardware once crew are onboard. In sharp contrast, SpaceX doesn't start loading propellant until the crew are onboard. So if SpaceX saw the same anomaly, they'd just cycle the valve, see that the chatter was gone, and continue. In the long run, SpaceX may kill ten times more people with their approach. For now, they free of crew accidents.
Centaur's buzzing oxygen valve and Starliner's helium leak are two different problems. And your reasoning is backwards. SpaceX build and know their systems. That knowledge is most parts with ULA's and Boeing's subcontractor or subcontractor's subcontractor. And their communication don't seems to work in best possible way, like seem to be case with L3Harris/AjetRocketdyne and Boeing.
At this point Boeing has spent over TWICE as much on their Commercial Crew program as SpaceX has, and they are as far behind time wise as SpaceX has been actually lofting Dragons with crew to LEO and with a perfect safety record. In addition, SpaceX has also been sending tourists to LEO as well as NASA astronauts. I predict that Starliner will never carry a space tourist.
By any objective standard, the Boeing program is a failure. It’s beyond embarrassing; it’s a disaster for Boeing.
It seems likely that eventually Boeing will manage to do its contracted NASA missions (though I would not bet money on it). But who is ever going to make a decision in the future to use Boeing for crewed space flight? Outright bribery would be required, and my expectation is that Boeing would not take on any new crew contracts anyway.
June 1st, anyone?
blogs.nasa.gov
NASA, Mission Partners Assessing Launch Opportunities for Crew Flight Test - NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test
Mission managers from NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) continue to evaluate a path forward toward launching the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test
blogs.nasa.gov
They changed the Centaur's valve, but not service module helium valve (doghouse valve, port manifold 2). Valve works even if seal deteriorate more, and leak is still tolerated. (If service module would needed to be de-staged, it would be the months long delay, rumored before)
Other words; risk caused by helium leak is low and acceptable...
Other words; risk caused by helium leak is low and acceptable...
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