Stick a fork in Boeing.
CNN —
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will bring home two NASA astronauts who have remained on board the International Space Station for about 80 days because of issues plaguing the Boeing Starliner spacecraft — marking a stunning turn of events for the beleaguered aerospace giant.
The news comes after the space agency held a formal review on Saturday to determine whether it would deem Boeing’s Starliner vehicle safe enough to return home with its crew — or if SpaceX’s workhorse Crew Dragon spacecraft would have to step in to save the day.
The Starliner vehicle, which carried astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the space station in early June, suffered setbacks with helium leaks and thrusters that abruptly stopped working on the initial leg of its first crewed test flight. Engineers spent weeks attempting to better understand the issues, and Boeing said as recently as August 2 that its “confidence remains high” that the spacecraft would be able to return Williams and Wilmore to Earth.
NASA revealed during an August 7 news briefing, however, that discussions within the space agency about the Starliner capsule’s safety had evolved — prompting the federal agency to more seriously consider flying the astronauts home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle, which has flown about a dozen crewed mission to space since 2020.
On Saturday, Nelson said NASA considered its extensive experience with spaceflight — both successful and unsuccessful — when making the decision. A poll of NASA representatives from across the agency’s departments and research, oversight and development centers was unanimous, according to agency officials.
“We have had mistakes done in the past: We lost two space shuttles as a result of there not being a culture in which information could come forward,” Nelson said. “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine. And a test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine.”
More https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/science/boeing-starliner-nasa-astronauts-spacex/index.html
CNN —
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will bring home two NASA astronauts who have remained on board the International Space Station for about 80 days because of issues plaguing the Boeing Starliner spacecraft — marking a stunning turn of events for the beleaguered aerospace giant.
The news comes after the space agency held a formal review on Saturday to determine whether it would deem Boeing’s Starliner vehicle safe enough to return home with its crew — or if SpaceX’s workhorse Crew Dragon spacecraft would have to step in to save the day.
The Starliner vehicle, which carried astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the space station in early June, suffered setbacks with helium leaks and thrusters that abruptly stopped working on the initial leg of its first crewed test flight. Engineers spent weeks attempting to better understand the issues, and Boeing said as recently as August 2 that its “confidence remains high” that the spacecraft would be able to return Williams and Wilmore to Earth.
NASA revealed during an August 7 news briefing, however, that discussions within the space agency about the Starliner capsule’s safety had evolved — prompting the federal agency to more seriously consider flying the astronauts home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle, which has flown about a dozen crewed mission to space since 2020.
On Saturday, Nelson said NASA considered its extensive experience with spaceflight — both successful and unsuccessful — when making the decision. A poll of NASA representatives from across the agency’s departments and research, oversight and development centers was unanimous, according to agency officials.
“We have had mistakes done in the past: We lost two space shuttles as a result of there not being a culture in which information could come forward,” Nelson said. “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine. And a test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine.”
More https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/science/boeing-starliner-nasa-astronauts-spacex/index.html
