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Boeing's troubled capsule won't carry astronauts on next space station flight (phys.org)

submitted 2 months ago by AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today to c/astronomy@mander.xyz

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Boeing and NASA have agreed to keep astronauts off the company's next Starliner flight and instead perform a trial run with cargo to prove its safety.

Monday's announcement comes eight months after the first and only Starliner crew returned to Earth aboard SpaceX after a prolonged mission. Although NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams managed to dock Starliner to the International Space Station in 2024, the capsule had so many problems that NASA ordered it to come back empty, leaving the astronauts stuck there for more than nine months.

Engineers have since been poring over the thruster and other issues that plagued the Starliner capsule. Its next cargo run to the space station will occur no earlier than April, pending additional tests and certification.

Boeing said in a statement that it remains committed to the Starliner program with safety the highest priority.

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[–] zleap@techhub.social -1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

@AmbiguousProps t

Is thus such a bad thing, as humans explore and spend more time living / working in space, we are going to need a way to get people to / from space, but also supplies, if Boeing can be part of the supply solution.

[–] AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sure, they can be a part of the supply solution. But these capsules were originally designed for transport of astronauts, and the supply side has much more competition.

[–] zleap@techhub.social -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

@AmbiguousProps

Good point, what was the main issue with the capsule? or was it with the rocket that took this in to space?

There is also perhaps going to be a need to transport items to from facilities in space, if we build a new ISS and also build one orbiting the Moon, then items / people need moving around.

I have often thought we need like they have on Star trek, shuttles or runabouts (DS9).

[–] AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 4 points 2 months ago

There's quite a lot of issues, but the main issue is with the thrusters not firing properly, which could cause astronauts to get stranded in space. It could also prevent getting the heat shield in the proper position for re-entry, both are dangerous, obviously.

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

A human rated spacecraft is orders of magnitude more complex and expensive than a mere cargo carrier. Developing a human rated capsule and then only using it for cargo would be ridiculously wasteful.