Posted on 02/07/2020 4:27:20 PM PST by BenLurkin
The new software issue was discovered during the Starliner's flight, according to panel member Paul Hill. A software fix was made just hours before the capsule returned.
"While this anomaly was corrected in flight, if it had gone uncorrected, it would have led to erroneous thruster firings and uncontrolled motion during [service module] separation for deorbit, with the potential for a catastrophic spacecraft failure," he said, according to Space News.
In a blog post Friday, NASA said its investigation with Boeing has found 11 "top-priority corrective actions" so far with more to be identified.
"There were numerous instances where the Boeing software quality processes either should have or could have uncovered the defects," NASA said.
NASA officials are still determining if another uncrewed test flight of the Boeing Starliner is needed before putting astronauts on board. But Boeing has already booked a $410 million Q4 charge in case NASA orders another uncrewed test flight.
At a press conference NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine acknowledged that the Boeing Starliner test flight "had a lot of anomalies." But when asked whether there will be another Starliner uncrewed flight, he said it's too early to tell that with an independent investigation still ongoing.
The possible "catastrophic" glitch could have resulted in the Starliner module and thruster bumping into each other during separation, officials said. In theory, it could have damaged the heat shield, depending on where it bumped into each other. The crew module could also have become unstable and started to tumble in space.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
*ping*
“Software? Did Boeing use $9 per hour Indians to learn to code on this spacecraft?”
Funny that you should ask....
It was the Starliner MAX MCAS software.......
Hard to believe that controlling the thrusters wasn’t tested extensively.
Fortunately, those conditions never occurred.
It is hard to imagine a shuttle pilot being able to recover from that.
I can think of a number of ways that it would end badly.
From the folks that brought you the 737 MAX programming.
Boeing cheerleader response - “if they used ‘Murcans instead of untrained 3rd world monkeys to control the flight, everything would be fine.”
No, it was putting Condit in charge that led to the corporate downfall.
There are more DC-9s in service than there are 737 MAXes.
H1B visas?
The software designers also made a caucus management app for the DNC...
Software? Did Boeing use $9 per hour Indians to learn to code on this spacecraft?
Boeing screwed the puppy when it decided to contract out work when its experienced workforce started to retire. There is no accounting for the slop left in newly manufactured aircraft.
As for MDA, have you forgotten the F4, F15, F18 and a host of others including the Apollo? During all the years that MDA had the Payload Ground Operations Contract there was never a launch delay, failure, or payload failure on orbit due to payload processing. The truth is Boeing failed to utilize the experience it gained from its merger with MDA.
That’s exactly my guess.
The only way to recover from that would be to separate from the external tank.
H1b temp outsourcing?
Probably.
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