Boeing Starliner test launch delayed due to blocked valves

New details emerge on technical issue that prevented NASA and Boeing from performing a CST-10 launch test0 Starliner spacecraft last week. The problem appears to be more serious than previously believed, which casts doubt on plans to launch the spacecraft later this month.

Like a car in the garage for repairs, the Boeing Starliner is back in the hangar as engineering teams scramble to fix a problem with the spacecraft’s propulsion system.

Specialists are working to “restore the functionality” of 13 valves in the propulsion system of the spacecraft, as explained by NASA in a recent declaration. These valves, as NASA says, “Connect to thrusters that allow interrupting and maneuvering in orbit”, and they did not open during the countdown on August 3, which resulted in the bush. The Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the International Space Station is now indefinitely overdue.

Keith Cowing, former NASA employee and editor of the NASA Watch site, made its opinion known yesterday in a Publish:

How – why – this spacecraft – one that’s supposed to eventually fly humans – ever made it to the launch pad without fully functioning propulsion valves in the first place? I was just wondering.

Fair question. The Starliner story is getting sadder and sadder. Starliner’s first unmanned test flight in late 2019 ended in disappointment, as the spacecraft failed to join the International Space Station. The botched test resulted in a a slew of corrections and a 1.5-One year delay in the project, which, as part of NASA’s commercial crew program, aims to provide a platform for transporting astronauts to the ISS. Aside from Russian craftsmanship, the only other option available to NASA is to launch astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which took off from the ground in May 2020.

The Starliner’s second unmanned test was scheduled to take place on July 30, but the missed The Russian module Nauka led the ISS to perform a unforeseen backflip, resulting in the delay.

After the clean launch on August 3, the Starliner capsule, still on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, was moved to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) for further inspection. Located next to the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida, this hangar allows teams of engineers to inspect the spacecraft up close. The capsule is currently powered and capable of receiving commands, according to NASA.

Boeing initially describe the problem being related to “unexpected valve position indications”. The company ruled out software issues, but speculation It turned out that an electrical storm, which passed through Space Launch Complex-41 the day before, could have damaged the valves. In one declarationBoeing said it was an “unlikely cause” but the team will “closely inspect water or electrical damage” while the spacecraft is in the hangar. In addition to physically inspecting Starliner, engineering teams chemically sampled the exterior of the valves and ruled out external corrosion.

Since entering the VIF, engineers have ordered seven of the 13 valves that were previously stuck in the closed position. As for the six remaining valves, they are still blocked, despite numerous measures to take them off.

“The test teams apply mechanical, electrical and thermal techniques to induce the valves to open, and move forward with a systematic plan to open the rest of the affected valves, demonstrate reproducible system performance, and verify the root cause of the problem beforehand. to come back. Starliner at the launch pad for his Orbital Flight Test-2 mission, ”writes NASA.

It’s a daunting checklist, especially since the root cause of the problem is still a complete mystery. Despite this, Boeing “is evaluating several launch opportunities for Starliner in August and will work with NASA and the United Launch Alliance to confirm those dates when the spacecraft is ready,” the company said in a statement. declaration released yesterday.

I don’t hold my breath. This problem seems serious, not something that can be casually brushed aside, whatever the cause. But you wouldn’t know it from Boeing.

“Cautiously optimistic is a good way to describe how the team is feeling,” John Vollmer, vice president and program director for Starliner, said in a statement. declaration released at the end of last week. “They come up with innovative ideas and prioritize the safety of the spacecraft and their teammates.”

The saga therefore continues with Starliner. Fortunately, NASA astronauts can hitchhike into space aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, so time doesn’t have to be of the essence. But it’s starting to be discouraging, otherwise very disturbing.

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