![]() “We possibly had a lower failure load limit than we previously had understood. “They were tested recently because of a discovery that we found during the review process where we believed that data was recorded incorrectly,” Nappi said. ![]() Engineers found issues with some of the joints called soft links made of fabric within the parachute system that could pose a safety risk for human spaceflight. ![]() The parachute issue is related to a more rigorous certification process for CFT than was performed on OFT-2, Nappi said. “So we’re looking at solutions that would provide for potentially another type of wrapping over the existing tape in the most vulnerable areas that reduces the risk of a fire hazard.” “It’s highly unlikely that we would go in and cut this tape off, would probably cause more damage or potential damage than we’re trying to solve for,” Nappi said. NASA deemed that 2019 flight a “high visibility close call” that forced a major overhaul of the program including hardware, software and management practices from both Boeing and NASA oversight.Ĭeleb chefs return to KSC for Taste of Space That mission came after more than a year and half delay from the first uncrewed flight attempt, which made it to orbit but missed its rendezvous with the ISS. This mission dubbed CFT was supposed to pave the way for the spacecraft’s certification to perform regular transport service to the ISS.ĬFT’s July target was already a delay from the spring, and has been more than a year since Boeing’s successful redo of an uncrewed flight to the ISS called OFT-2. ![]() The mission that aimed to take up NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the International Space Station was slated to fly as early as July 21 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. “You can say we’re disappointed because it means that delay, but the team is proud that we’re making the right choices.” It’s always been that way with human spaceflight, and so that drives this decision,” said Mark Nappi who heads up Boeing’s Starliner program. “Bottom line here, safety is always our top priority. Despite spending almost twice as much, Boeing has significantly lagged behind SpaceX in spacecraft development.NASA and Boeing officials said the first crewed flight of the CST-100 Starliner will be delayed yet again after new issues related to the spacecraft’s parachutes as well as the discovery that much of the tape used in the hardware was flammable. Both companies were commissioned by NASA to build a reusable launch system to regularly fly astronauts to the International Space Station. “Because of the combined work, we have a much better understanding of the contributors that led to the valve issues, and ways to prevent it from happening in the future.”īoeing’s Starliner is a competing project of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. “NASA has been working side-by-side with Boeing on the service module valve investigation, including leveraging the agency’s materials and propellants expertise to better characterize the potential causes of the issue,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, said in a statement on Monday. The service module provides power and propulsion to the Starliner capsule during flight and is ejected by the capsule near the end of its mission. The fix, Boeing and NASA have decided, is to replace the service module with a new one that’s originally planned for Starliner’s first crewed flight test (CFT). The test was postponed first for a day then indefinitely after Boeing decided that the capsule needed to be removed from the booster for further inspection. Hours before liftoff, about half of the valves in Starliner’s service module malfunctioned. Boeing initially attempted launching the OFT-2 mission in August.
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