The first crewed voyage of Boeing's Starliner was supposed to last around a week, but the high-stakes mission is still in limbo eight weeks after launch.

The first crewed voyage of Boeing’s Starliner was supposed to last around a week, but the high-stakes mission is still in limbo eight weeks after launch.

Their high-stakes mission was supposed to last about a week — but 56 days later, two NASA astronauts are still aboard the International Space Station, waiting as teams on the ground try to figure out how to bring them home safely in the Boeing spaceship they rode to orbit.

The beleaguered Starliner capsule has two problems: its propulsion system is leaking helium and five of its thrusters malfunctioned as it was docking with the space station. Mission managers were aware of the leaks before the vehicle lifted off but had said they were unlikely to affect the flight or the astronauts’ safety.

    • Zron@lemmy.world
      251·
      4 months ago

      If your flight is on a Boeing aircraft, you’re likely in the same situation as the astronauts.

      What I can’t understand about this situation, is they’ve apparently been studying the craft’s helium leaks this whole time. But, as far as I’m aware, they’ve done 1 EVA to look at the thing. How are they inspecting the physical condition of hardware(pipes, seals, welds, brazed joints) via software from the ground and the results of one EVA. I also can’t see NASA giving the green light to really strip the Starliner to the guts while it’s attached to the space station, so did the astronauts even get a chance to look closely to find these leaks. A quarter of my job is finding leaks in high pressure piping systems, and you often have to really get in there and remove all the panels to pinpoint a leak. I highly doubt nasa has allowed the crew to rip apart a space capsule the same way I would rip apart a rooftop unit.

      • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7·
        4 months ago

        What I can’t understand about this situation, is they’ve apparently been studying the craft’s helium leaks this whole time. But, as far as I’m aware, they’ve done 1 EVA to look at the thing. How are they inspecting the physical condition of hardware(pipes, seals, welds, brazed joints) via software from the ground and the results of one EVA.

        The thing that takes the most time isn’t looking at the thing, it’s doing the engineering to figure out WTF you’re going to do about it afterward.

      • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
        4·
        4 months ago

        How are they inspecting the physical condition of hardware(pipes, seals, welds, brazed joints) via software from the ground and the results of one EVA.

        Well, there are a whole lot of sensors and monitors on all of the hardware in that capsule, and all that data gets collected. So they can tell a lot about what’s going on with the capsule even remotely. But it’s still a lot of data to dig through and analyze.

        And then once you identify the problem it’s like… “well the temperature on component X went way past its lower limit and one section of the fuel line went way over pressure and this third sensor isn’t responding at all”, so… now you know some things, but that might not immediately tell you what exactly happened, or why it happened. And then once you figure out why it all happened, there’s trying to figure out how to prevent it reliably without introducing new problems.

        And I think you’re right that it is actually pretty hard for the engineers to do all that without physically being there. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the slowdown is due to needing to replicate the problem in simulations or physical mockups down on earth.

      • ptfrd@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        3 months ago

        as far as I’m aware, they’ve done 1 EVA to look at the thing

        Don’t think so.

        They do have access to camera imagery, but as you say, most problems like this probably need much more intrusive investigation.

      • Frozengyro@lemmy.world
        2·
        4 months ago

        *Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,

        A tale of a space-bound flight,

        That started from the launch pad,

        And soared into the night.

        The crew was a brave expedition,

        Their mission to the ISS,

        They docked at the space station,

        For a stay they hoped would be a success.

        But then a mishap came their way,

        The systems went awry,

        And now they’re stuck in orbit,

        With no way to say goodbye.

        So this is the crew of the ISS,

        Stranded in the sky,

        With floating and fixing their new routine,

        They’ll adapt and try to get by.

        They’ll orbit 'round the Earth each day,

        In their floating, cosmic home,

        With teamwork and resilience,

        They’ll make it through alone.*

        PS, I didn’t write this.

    • huquad@lemmy.mlEnglish
      62·
      4 months ago

      No no no, they chose to be on the deserted island. Definitely not stranded

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
    14·
    4 months ago

    I do love that Boeing is like “we have no idea what the fuck went wrong. Here’s the data cause we give up.” Boeing sure is turning de a new leaf and putting safety first. /s

    • Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works
      11·
      4 months ago

      tl;dl

      Starliner thrusters all passed 3 hot fire simulations of a return mission. Probably fine to fly home.

      Ground testing was able to match what happened to the thrusters on approach. NASA now more confident the theory around fuel flow restrictions was correct.

      Catch is they’ll never know for sure because the thrusters in space can’t be taken apart to examine. And they won’t make it back to Earth because they’re on a portion that detaches before re-entry.

      The rumors around using Dragon for a return mission are true. But in that NASA has had time to think up multiple scenarios that weren’t ever possible prior for return missions. There are now around 4-5 options thought up. NASA might go on to test some of those ideas out.

      ISS has so many ships docked, with more planned, that a decision on Starliner is happening soon. Regardless of if people are aboard, it needs to leave ISS by September if I was following along correctly.

  • Melatonin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    8·
    4 months ago

    They’ve probably finished all the scientific tests they had to do, and played as much Hearts as they can stand.

    How will that weightless man and woman get busy and stay diverted?

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
    5·
    4 months ago

    If they actually send up a SpaceX capsule to pick them up, they should not fly empty. They should take the managers responsible for this project up, and let them return in the Boeing capsule.