Boeing's Troubled Starliner Space Capsule Grounded Again

[RV_]

I have posted critically about the ULA (United Launch Alliance - Boeing and Lockheed) several times before about their lobbying against Space X. They lost their claim to compete long ago when I called their Starliner vaporware. That is what it turns out to be. They do not have a craft that can fly whatever the reason. This is an outrage to me because they received twice what Space X received for the same mission and failed!

This comes after revelations that the 737 fiasco was preventable when whistleblowers were silenced and defective jets were put out anyway. My comment is how can they put up Mars missions when they can't even make jets which they have done for more than 100 years starting with a little biplane. Perhaps they have gotten too big to worry about getting it right.

As well, the Atlas V they are using still uses the Russian made and supplied RD180 rocket engine. Their part of our space program depends on Putin's mood. He stopped shipping RD 180 engines when Obama objected to their aggression in the Crimea and the Ukraine. Our Space program is still at the mercy of Putin and that needs to stop. They had a head start by years and continue to fail at twice the price. Using Russian rocket engines.

This latest in a string of engineering failures in the air and in space has likely ended their participation in the Mars race. I say let's have NASA find another private competitor to replace them.

Excerpt:

 

 

 

 

Boeing's Troubled Starliner Space Capsule Grounded Again

Lou Whiteman 8/14/2021 Yesterday

 

"Boeing (NYSE: BA) has scuttled the planned launch of its CST-100 Starliner space capsule, a fresh setback for the long-troubled program that has fallen significantly behind a rival offering from Elon Musk's SpaceX.
%7B © Provided by The Motley Fool Boeing's Troubled Starliner Space Capsule Grounded Again

The decision is unlikely to be fatal for the Starliner program, in part because NASA desperately wants multiple domestic options to transport astronauts into space. But it is a fresh blow to a company that has dealt with a long and growing list of engineering woes in recent years.

And the longer it takes for Boeing to iron out its issues and get the Starliner operating, the more likely it is this program and its issues will be used against the aerospace and defense giant as it is considered for future awards.

This "space race" was a rout

In 2016, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX a combined $6.8 billion to develop and fly space capsules capable of taking astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The awards were controversial from the start, as Boeing received nearly twice as much funding as SpaceX for essentially the same task order.

NASA hasn't had a domestic option to fly humans into space since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, and the agency was eager to bake redundancy into this new effort to make sure it did not become overly reliant on one contractor. But it has gotten decidedly different results from its two vendors.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon faced some initial setbacks but has been a huge success for NASA, culminating with a successful first crewed flight in May 2020 and a series of follow-ups in the months since. There is likely to be at least one SpaceX Dragon capsule parked at the ISS for the foreseeable future as NASA ferries astronauts and supplies through the company.

Boeing, meanwhile, has largely been stuck on the launching pad. A December 2019 attempt to send an uncrewed Starliner to the station was marred by a failed engine sequence that caused the capsule to miss its rendezvous. Boeing has mostly been in repair-mode with the capsule ever since, but had returned to Cape Canaveral in Florida last month to finally try again at this key development milestone.

Second time was not the charm

On Aug. 3, with Starliner already mounted on an Atlas V rocket in preparation for launch, Boeing engineers discovered that a dozen valves used in the capsule's propulsion system were stuck in the closed position. Workers spent the last ten days trying to fix the problem, holding out hope of launching the capsule.

On Friday, Boeing conceded the launch would not go off as planned, announcing it would "destack" the capsule from the rocket and return it to its factory for a "deeper-level troubleshooting." The company said it would have to work with NASA and United Launch Alliance, the rocket maker co-owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, to work out a new launch date once the valve issue is resolved.

"Mission success in human spaceflight depends on thousands of factors coming together at the right time," John Vollmer, a vice president at Boeing and program manager for the commercial crew program, said in a statement. "We'll continue to work the issue from the Starliner factory and have decided to stand down for this launch window to make way for other national priority missions."

Boeing shares could struggle to rocket higher

Boeing shareholders are no strangers to engineering setbacks. On the commercial side, the company's 737 MAX was grounded for nearly 18 months after a pair of fatal crashes and both the 787 Dreamliner and 777X models have faced issues in recent months. Boeing's KC-46 military tanker was beset by cost overruns and missed deadlines, and its space unit is facing challenges both with the Starliner and the separate Space Launch System it is building for NASA.

It's dangerous for an investor to read too much into any one mishap, especially considering Boeing still has a backlog of more than 4,000 commercial aircraft orders and billions in defense orders. Boeing is an important supplier to both defense and commercial aerospace markets, and is well-positioned to soak up significant revenue in those areas for years to come.

That said, this latest issue if nothing else is likely to raise fresh questions about Boeing's engineering prowess and make the company's effort to rebuild its reputation following the 737 MAX debacle more difficult.

And while NASA today remains committed to the Starliner, SpaceX now has a longer window to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Dragon capsule and argue to NASA that another option is not necessary. Boeing investors shouldn't assume that NASA will support Starliner indefinitely if issues continue to mount.

For investors these issues are no reason to hit the panic button, but they do make the bull case for Boeing harder to justify. Boeing is very much a company in transition, and it isn't having a lot of luck avoiding flying through turbulence."

Much more in the article here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/boeings-troubled-starliner-space-capsule-grounded-again/ar-AANjE1e?ocid=uxbndlbing

 

 

 

 

[Pat & Pete]

Guaranteed that you or I couldn't get away with the same type performance . 

Something smells pretty bad . 

[Jim & Alice]

Thanks, Derek.

[RV_]

3 hours ago, Pat & Pete said:

Guaranteed that you or I couldn't get away with the same type performance . 

Something smells pretty bad . 

No we could not get away with that, especially at twice the cost to taxpayers!

This isn't new, check this out:

"Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) worked together to manipulate 737 Max recertification tests following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, according to a damning new Senate report. Boeing “inappropriately coached” some FAA test pilots to reach a desired outcome during the recertification tests, and some were even performed on simulators that weren’t equipped to re-create the same conditions as the crashes."

Source, one of many about that Senate investigation and the troubling results:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/18/22189609/faa-boeing-737-max-senate-report-coverup-tests-whistleblowers

Excerpt and link to the actual senate report:

Exerpt:

"Wicker Releases Committee’s FAA Investigation Report

December 18, 2020

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today released the Committee’s investigation report on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This investigation began in April of 2019, weeks after the second of two tragic crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, when Committee staff began receiving information from whistleblowers disclosing numerous concerns related to aviation safety.

“Twenty months ago, the Commerce Committee launched an investigation into FAA safety oversight. We have received disclosures from more than 50 whistleblowers, conducted numerous FAA staff interviews, and reviewed over 15,000 pages of relevant documents,” said Wicker. “Our findings are troubling. The report details a number of significant examples of lapses in aviation safety oversight and failed leadership in the FAA. It is clear that the agency requires consistent oversight to ensure their work to protect the flying public is executed fully and correctly.”

Some of the report’s more significant findings include:

• FAA senior managers have not been held accountable for failure to develop and deliver adequate training in flight standards, despite repeated findings of deficiencies over several decades.
• The FAA continues to retaliate against whistleblowers instead of welcoming their disclosures in the interest of safety.
• The Department of Transportation Office of General Counsel (DOT OGC) failed to produce relevant documents requested by Chairman Wicker as required by Article I, Section I of the Constitution.
• The FAA repeatedly permitted Southwest Airlines to continue operating dozens of aircraft in an unknown airworthiness condition for several years. These flights put millions of passengers at risk.
• During 737 MAX recertification testing, Boeing inappropriately influenced FAA human factor simulator testing of pilot reaction times involving a Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) failure.
• FAA senior leaders may have obstructed a DOT OIG review of the 737 MAX crashes.

The Commerce Committee released a fact sheet highlighting information on improper issuance of airworthiness certificates for 88 Southwest Airlines airplanes in November, 2019. Chairman Wicker also sent a letter to FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson expressing concern about these aircraft. In January of 2020, another fact sheet was released on alleged misconduct by FAA managers at the Flight Standards District Office in Honolulu, Hawaii. An update to this fact sheet was posted on June 17, 2020. The Committee is still reviewing the ongoing production of requested documents from the FAA and additional information received from whistleblowers."

Click here to read the Committee’s report, which includes a one-page executive summary and a six-page overview.

https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2020/12/wicker-releases-committee-s-faa-investigation-report

 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by RV_

[RV_]

YW Jim.