Boeing's Starliner Fails to Reach Correct Orbit En Route to Space Station

[Admin]

Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi suffered an anomaly today (Dec. 20) during its flight to the International Space Station during the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) mission.

Boeing's Starliner Fails to Reach Correct Orbit En Route to Space Station : Read more

 

[Rampager83]

Just to clarify, the anomaly was in the propulsion systems on the Starliner + Service Module, not in any upper stage for the ULA Atlas V?

Sad to see the problem. Looking forward to Starliner and Dragon getting Americans back to Space from U.S. launch sites!

 

[msunderl]

I for one appreciated your comment!

 

[CaptainJewel]

Here Boeing and ULS have three control centers, hundreds of people including an entire back up center, and they can't get it right. This, by the company that turns a blind eye to a faulty airliner that kills 350 people. Is it really a surprise at this point that Boeing is an incompetent suck of tax payer dollars that could be better spent on private commercial space programs that are proving themselves successful and streamlined? SpaceX gives us an enthusiastic small group of diverse young engineers who give us real time video of every phase of a launch from an orbital platform while Boeing and ULS give us boring shots of bored looked engineers with monotone voice over. Mr. Bridenstine: It is time you stopped cowtowing to the military industrial complex and insist that our legislators allow the true innovators and entrepeneurs to take America to the heights.

 

[campbesj]

I got up early to watch the launch and the coverage was really boring. A little bit of long range launch video followed by twenty minutes of guys looking at monitors. Have they ever watched a Falcon 9 launch?

 

[SteveC]

Here Boeing and ULS have three control centers, hundreds of people including an entire back up center, and they can't get it right. This, by the company that turns a blind eye to a faulty airliner that kills 350 people. Is it really a surprise at this point that Boeing is an incompetent suck of tax payer dollars that could be better spent on private commercial space programs that are proving themselves successful and streamlined? SpaceX gives us an enthusiastic small group of diverse young engineers who give us real time video of every phase of a launch from an orbital platform while Boeing and ULS give us boring shots of bored looked white male engineers with monotone voice over. Mr. Bridenstine: It is time you stopped cowtowing to the military industrial complex and insist that our legislators allow the true innovators and entrepeneurs to take America to the heights.

Well said. The military industrial complex has risen to its level of incompetence and NASA appears to be closely behind. Using 60's throwaway hardware and STILL can't get it right? Time for CHANGE!

 

[jjkusaf]

Just to clarify, the anomaly was in the propulsion systems on the Starliner + Service Module, not in any upper stage for the ULA Atlas V?

Sad to see the problem. Looking forward to Starliner and Dragon getting Americans back to Space from U.S. launch sites!

Yes, this was an anomaly with the Starliner itself vs. the ULA vehicle. In other words ... everything was nominal until about 15 minutes after Starliner separated from Centaur while it was performing its orbital insertion burn. Apparently a clock issue on the spacecraft so timing for the burn was off.

 

[JoAnn/Rosebud1]

Boeing and NASA, I for one want to thank you for using Rosie to represent all of our Rosie the Riveters from WWII. My mom would be so proud she and her twin sister worked for Boeing during the War. They both worked on the B17s. All of our Rosies from the American Rosie the Riveter Association are very proud of this venture. Thank you again!
#RosietheRiveter

 

[k-ho]

Any word on whether the capsule can still be landed? Not making it to the ISS is bad but not being able to test rentry would make this test a total disaster for Boeing.

UPDATE: This has been answered. Landing attempt Sunday

 

[k-ho]

Here Boeing and ULS have three control centers, hundreds of people including an entire back up center, and they can't get it right. This, by the company that turns a blind eye to a faulty airliner that kills 350 people. Is it really a surprise at this point that Boeing is an incompetent suck of tax payer dollars that could be better spent on private commercial space programs that are proving themselves successful and streamlined? SpaceX gives us an enthusiastic small group of diverse young engineers who give us real time video of every phase of a launch from an orbital platform while Boeing and ULS give us boring shots of bored looked white male engineers with monotone voice over. Mr. Bridenstine: It is time you stopped cowtowing to the military industrial complex and insist that our legislators allow the true innovators and entrepeneurs to take America to the heights.

The problem is political, legislators have to quit viewing the Space program as a local jobs fund. I don't think any NASA head can push against that, it will take a president using the bully pulpit to shame congress by saying their parochial concerns will keep America from leading in space.

 

[jjkusaf]

Any word on whether the capsule can still be landed? Not making it to the ISS is bad but not being able to test rentry would make this test a total disaster for Boeing.

Think they are trying for a Sunday morning landing at White Sands.

 

[Rampager83]

I got up early to watch the launch and the coverage was really boring. A little bit of long range launch video followed by twenty minutes of white guys looking at monitors. Have they ever watched a Falcon 9 launch?

I thought the same thing....

 

[Rampager83]

Yes, this was an anomaly with the Starliner itself vs. the ULA vehicle. In other words ... everything was nominal until about 15 minutes after Starliner separated from Centaur while it was performing its orbital insertion burn. Apparently a clock issue on the spacecraft so timing for the burn was off.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure.

 

[Herb]

Looks like a software problem. If true, Boeing may have to rethink how they code and test.

But this event really highlights the existential futility of the Boeing program.

SpaceX is so far ahead that even after prospective years of toil and treasure, Boeing will have something less robust and more expensive than what SpaceX has right now. Why throw away expensive boosters (with Russian engines no less) on a scheme so fuel marginal it that 30 minutes of RC burns killed a mission? Why would the United States need two totally redundant systems to deliver essentially the same small command modules?

The competition has already proved its point. The United States would be better served to just kill Starliner and give the money to Boeing for R&D and manufacture of something that might be useful to the economy. Podded airliners and cargo airlifted on giant single & twin turbine hybrid drive craft would be a good start.

 

[Craftsman X]

Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi suffered an anomaly today (Dec. 20) during its flight to the International Space Station during the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) missioBoeing's Starliner Fails to Reach Correct Orbit En Route to Space Station : Read more
[/QUO
I can't imagine the pressure that everyone must be under now that is working on this... whilst this is 'only a test' and no astronauts are aboard, if you were now on board (empathy mode) and your lives were in the hands of your terrestrial guides, would you have confidence in their off-grid problem solving capabilities? hell yes... bring on the challenge.... that's what I would want to hear in my headset....
I think that if they get this thing safely down over the coming hours, this is what will prove them to be up to the job...
I for one wish them well.....

 

[Aaron Aaron]

What did you expect from the company that created the MCAS on the 737 max, which was both faulty and not included in the flight training? It is a systemic failure to not periodically step back and do a sanity check on what is being done, and a failure of management, which really does not know what is going on.

As far as the 737max goes, my personal opinion is that several people who worked on the project need to be hauled in for multiple homicide. The created a system that deliberately crashed the aircraft.

 

[Quinten]

I got up early to watch the launch and the coverage was really boring. A little bit of long range launch video followed by twenty minutes of white guys looking at monitors. Have they ever watched a Falcon 9 launch?

I am 63 years old and I've been in the technology business for 40 or so of those years. I have witnessed many many space programs, from John Glenn (Mercury, I was 6) Apollo,
The moon, ISS, Shuttle, Hubble. There are many many men and women working on these projects and I can guarantee you that everyone of them spends all of their free time hoping for a "boring" mission, start to finish. If you are one of those who needs to be "entertained" 24 hours a day, too bad for you. That's not what they are there for.

 

[Macadoodle]

Another home run for the programers at Boeing. Time for them to step back from computers and go with cables and pulleys again. I thinknits probably wise to avoid anything they make newer than the 767.

 

[JustMark]

Here Boeing and ULS have three control centers, hundreds of people including an entire back up center, and they can't get it right. This, by the company that turns a blind eye to a faulty airliner that kills 350 people. Is it really a surprise at this point that Boeing is an incompetent suck of tax payer dollars that could be better spent on private commercial space programs that are proving themselves successful and streamlined? SpaceX gives us an enthusiastic small group of diverse young engineers who give us real time video of every phase of a launch from an orbital platform while Boeing and ULS give us boring shots of bored looked white male engineers with monotone voice over. Mr. Bridenstine: It is time you stopped cowtowing to the military industrial complex and insist that our legislators allow the true innovators and entrepeneurs to take America to the heights.

 

[JustMark]

I agree 100% with the Captain. I watched the launch and the failure of the Starliner, only. The disposable boosters, 1st and 2nd stages performed nominally. Only after separation did ULA staff breathe again and celebrate.
The anomaly is Boeing's Starliner issue. The news conference was damage control by political hacks. J Bridenstine ,front and center. I was actually relieved when the anomaly occurred. I had doubts about the Starliner with it's bloated
budget and far behind schedule. I was relieved it never got close to the ISS.
SpaceX(Elon Musk) and Blue Origin(Jeff Bezos) are doing Buck Rogers accomplishments with no taxpayer funding. They use autonomous boosters and rockets to be refurbished and flown again. Both of these companies are less than 20 years old. NASA was founded in the late 50's has served America well. It is not the program it once was. Boeing ,IMO, has no business in space and launch business. Their only

 

[Keith]

Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi suffered an anomaly today (Dec. 20) during its flight to the International Space Station during the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) mission.

Boeing's Starliner Fails to Reach Correct Orbit En Route to Space Station : Read more

Do tell Boeing!
First 346 people die because pilots couldn't counteract the un-announced MCAS software, And now Boeing expects the latest software failure to be overridden by astronauts ?????
"Okay, Houston, we've a problem here" !!!
Boeing has a real problem designing and integrating software and hardware.
This is an organizational problem. NOT a software problem.
Personally, although I'd love to go into space, I'd no sooner ride on the Starliner Capsule than I would on a Boeing 737-MAX.
WOW!

 

[Space Cowboy]

Hey Boeing!

Learn to code.

 

[Keith]

I agree 100% with the Captain. I watched the launch and the failure of the Starliner, only. The disposable boosters, 1st and 2nd stages performed nominally. Only after separation did ULA staff breathe again and celebrate.
The anomaly is Boeing's Starliner issue. The news conference was damage control by political hacks. J Bridenstine ,front and center. I was actually relieved when the anomaly occurred. I had doubts about the Starliner with it's bloated
budget and far behind schedule. I was relieved it never got close to the ISS.
SpaceX(Elon Musk) and Blue Origin(Jeff Bezos) are doing Buck Rogers accomplishments with no taxpayer funding. They use autonomous boosters and rockets to be refurbished and flown again. Both of these companies are less than 20 years old. NASA was founded in the late 50's has served America well. It is not the program it once was. Boeing ,IMO, has no business in space and launch business. Their only

Spot on - Boeing should stick to solving the 737 MAX problems it has. Blaming software and losing communications on the failure is totally bogus ! This implies there is no backup and the margins are too thin. Relying on astronauts to "fix things" in real time with no ground support is crazy as the MCAS fiascio has shown. Boeing needs to be shown the door on this one !

 

[Keith]

I got up early to watch the launch and the coverage was really boring. A little bit of long range launch video followed by twenty minutes of white guys looking at monitors. Have they ever watched a Falcon 9 launch?

Boeing's more interested in getting beaucoup government while being behind schedule and incompentent. Boeing is simply not up to solving this task. Take them off this one before lives and programs are lost entirely.

 

[Itswoo2you]

Boeing can't keep planes in the air did you really expect them to reach the space station?

 

[mikebux]

Wrong booster. Thats it. MECO was too early. Most likely the calculation was done in India by $9.00 p.h. students. Bet money, the next time will be 4 boosters instead of 2. Star Liner is way to heavy for a single RD-180.