Members of NASA’s independent safety advisory board on Thursday warned the space agency not to rush to the crew test flight of the Starliner spacecraft with Boeing problems, parachuting the program’s capsules and Boeing personnel. He expressed concern about the final certification of the deployment.
Safety advisors also said “clear safety concerns” about SpaceX’s plans to launch a giant starship rocket from the Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A, the same facility used for crew missions to the International Space Station. Said there is.
Boeing will begin redoing a test flight with Starliner crew capsule issues next week. The mission — called Orbital Flight Test-2, or OFT-2 — does not carry astronauts. But hopefully, before NASA and Boeing declare new things, the OFT-2 mission will take the crew to the space station for the next Starliner launch and a final demonstration mission (crew flight test). , Or CFT) paves the way for doing. Commercial vehicle ready for operation.
Developed in a public-private partnership, the Starliner spacecraft is the second manned to transport astronauts to and from the space station, alongside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which was first launched with the crew in May 2020. Provide capsules to NASA.
As SpaceX began to provide regular crew transportation services to the space station, NASA personnel had time to resolve technical issues with the Starliner spacecraft. Nonetheless, NASA will secure two crew transport providers to avoid redepending on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for astronaut flight again if SpaceX encounters significant delays. I am eager for that.
“The panel is pleased that we don’t have to rush to the CFT for all the signs,” David West, a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Board, said at a public meeting Thursday. “The view consistently expressed to us (from NASA) is that the program will only proceed to the CFT when it is ready. Of course, the best way to the CFT is the success of OFT-2.”
NASA has signed a series of contracts with Boeing. It’s worth over $ 5 billion in Starliner development, test flight, and operations since 2010. The contract includes an agreement on a six-crew rotation flight to the space station (four crews each) and a short-term crew flight test with astronauts after the completion of the OFT-2 mission. It has been.
However, the Starliner program faces years of delay. Software issues prevented the spacecraft from docking to the space station on OFT-1 missions in 2019, forcing Boeing to make a second pilot-less test flight at its own expense. The OFT-2 mission was on the launch pad last August and was ready to take off on the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Engineers noticed that the 13 oxidizer isolation valves in the Starliner spacecraft propulsion system were stuck in the closed position.
After nine months of testing, investigation, and replacement with a new propulsion module, Boeing returned the Starliner spacecraft to ULA’s rocket hangar on May 4, lifting it onto the Atlas 5 rocket to prepare it for launch. bottom. Read the previous story about valve repair.
West said on Thursday that NASA’s manager approved a modification of the oxidizer valve on the OFT-2 mission, but “there is a question as to whether the valve needs to be redesigned for future flights after OFT-2. “. He also stated that the manager approved “the rationale for flight” on the issue of high pressure latch valves in the Starliner command module propulsion system. This is a separate issue from the oxidizer valve in service modules.
“There is also concern that Boeing’s parachute certification may be delayed,” West said.
He also noted “significant program concerns” that the number of manned Atlas 5 rockets remaining in ULA’s inventory is limited. ULA has an additional 24 Atlas 5 rockets that fly before the rocket retires, prioritizing the cheaper and more powerful Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Eight of these 24 rockets have already been assigned to the Starliner program, sufficient to meet Boeing’s contractual requirements for NASA.
ULA’s new Balkan rocket hasn’t flown yet.
“Another factor is that the Balkan rocket, which replaces the Atlas V for the Starliner launch, needs to be certified for manned spaceflight. The process of getting that certification can take years,” West said. Mr. says.
West, a longtime engineering safety manager and testing director of the Accredited Safety Experts Committee, said general concerns about the workforce of NASA and contractors throughout the manned spaceflight program were “especially important in the case of Boeing.” Said.
“The panel pointed out that Boeing’s staffing level seems to be particularly low,” West said. “The panel will monitor the situation in the near future to see how this may affect the existence or mitigation of safety risks.
“I don’t want to see you rushing to launch CFT, but Boeing will apply all available resources to meet a reasonable schedule and avoid unnecessary delays. Must be, “said West.
Mark Silangero, another member of the Safety Panel, said: “At the same time, if the delay is caused by a lack of resources applied to the program, it will have a significant impact or impact on the NASA schedule of return to the moon and many other things in progress. May be to fan out from those delays. “
NASA and Boeing officials have refused to set a target schedule for crew flight tests. Preparations for the capsule for the first astronaut mission only stated that it was ready for launch by the end of this year. The crew flight test schedule depends primarily on the results of the OFT-2 mission.
SpaceX, another NASA commercial crew contractor, has completed two all-civilian astronaut missions using NASA’s fleet of dragon spacecraft, in addition to NASA’s five crew launches.
Officials announced last year that SpaceX will discontinue production of the new Dragon Capsule after building four manned vehicles. For the first time last month, the fourth and latest member of the fleet was launched. Each Dragon spacecraft is designed for at least five flights, and SpaceX and NASA can certify capsules for additional missions.
“We are undoubtedly concerned about the requirements for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS throughout their rest of their lives, and whether they can be met without additional dragons, whatever. “Masu,” West said. “We encourage you to conduct parametric studies to inform and support relevant decisions about whether you need more dragon capsules.
“But the dragon’s launch rate continues, and measures are being taken to maintain it,” West said. “Some of these measures may include postponement of preventive maintenance and several reuses of the dragon.” The Panel is closely watching whether these measures can be implemented without increasing risk. increase.
“By the way, it’s important to note that all of these SpaceX launches yield a lot of data,” West said. “Data can benefit NASA, but we need to be careful not to be overwhelmed by too much data.”
In February, NASA ordered SpaceX for three more crew rotation missions, adding them to the six flights of the original commercial crew contract. Once Starliner is operational, NASA wants to alternate crew rotations between Boeing and SpaceX every six months, providing each provider with an annual NASA astronaut flight. I am.
West plans to eventually launch a giant next-generation starship rocket currently under development in South Texas from the Kennedy Space Center, which could pose a risk to the Falcon 9 and Dragon launch facilities on Pad 39A. Added.
“One possible option identified for launching a starship is from a new facility planned within the physical boundaries around pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center where the dragon will be launched,” West said. “There are obvious safety concerns about launching a large, yet unproven starship, not to mention a very important path to a commercial crew program, just 300 yards from another pad. “
The Pad 39A is currently the only launch facility capable of launching SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rockets and is needed to put the heavier NASA and US military spacecraft into orbit.
The combination of Starship and its huge super-heavy booster stage makes it about 400 feet (120 meters) high. The system is designed to be fully reusable, and SpaceX will land the Starship Booster and upper tier vertically at the launch site.
SpaceX has completed work on the Starship Launch Pad in southern Texas, but the Federal Aviation Administration will operate SpaceX on the site before issuing a commercial launch license for the first full-up starship orbital test flight. We are considering the impact on the environment.
NASA signed a $ 2.9 billion contract with SpaceX last year to develop a version of the Starship Vehicle for landing astronauts on the Moon.
“In conclusion, I would like to say that these are very complex times for CCP,” West said, referring to NASA’s commercial crew program. “There are a number of relevant external considerations, as the published Starship launch site shows, but one thing that remains clear is that NASA will have two viable CCP providers. That is still very important. “
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