Posted on 09/29/2021 1:19:54 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Starliner is stuck until 2022 at least! Will it ever be safe for humans?
If not, why is NASA ignoring the obvious solution?
NOTE: The first three minutes of this video are a parody work of fiction. Any similarities to persons or characters living or dead are purely coincidental.Starliner still under repair and unsafe! Why is NASA not at least considering Dreamchaser?? | September 23, 2021 | The Angry Astronaut
It boils down to the BE-4 engine which Tony Bruno at ULA is betting the farm on.
Many dot gov platforms are now hosted on Amazon Web Services cloud systems. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Blue Origin hasn't test flown its purported next-gen BE-4 engine, back in 2018 it won a contract to produce same for United Launch Alliance (ULA) to use on its Vulcan rocket. ULA had committed to this decision as early as 2014, but delivery is supposedly finally going to happen by the end of 2021.
Blue Origin's promised New Glenn booster uses the same engine. Clearly production of the engine is a constraint on both programs, and Bezos will have to push out NG launches until after ULA takes its deliveries. The Vulcan-Centaur is slated for DoD launches.
If the DoD needs the launches in a real time frame, it'll simply turn to SpaceX and its Falcon 9 Heavy.
[Sen. Richard] Shelby: ULA Selects Blue Origin BE-4 Rocket Engine, New Huntsville Facility
Sep 27 2018
https://www.shelby.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/9/shelby-ula-selects-blue-origin-be-4-rocket-engine-new-huntsville-facility
Why is Jeff Bezos building rocket engines in Alabama? He’s playing to win
It wasn’t just good politics. Or good business. It was both.
ERIC BERGER - 6/28/2017, 11:29 AM
https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/heres-why-jeff-bezos-is-building-rocket-engines-in-alabama/
What just happened between Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Alabama?
Updated: Mar. 07, 2019, 3:26 a.m. | Published: Jun. 27, 2017, 11:21 a.m.
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2017/06/what_just_happened_between_jef.html
SpaceX Versus Senator Shelby’s Rocket to Nowhere
[do a quick Ctrl-A and Ctrl-C before the paywall comes down]
Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, wants private contractors such as Elon Musk and the engineers at SpaceX to do more paperwork.
By Adam Minter
June 23, 2014, 9:01 PM EDT
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2014-06-23/spacex-versus-senator-shelby-s-rocket-to-nowehere
SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Sen. Richard Shelby spar over Obama space policy
Updated: Jan. 14, 2019, 7:29 p.m. | Published: Apr. 25, 2010, 9:25 a.m.
https://www.al.com/breaking/2010/04/spacexs_elon_musk_sen_richard.html
Starliner has nothing to do with Blue Origin. Starliner is Boeing. And yes, they are stuck 2022 at the earliest.
In the meantime, ULA continues to use the Russian RD 180 engines as usual.
But this first was not the last for NASA. The United States would go on to complete six crewed missions to the moon that landed a total of 12 astronauts (all men) from 1969 to 1972 in a series of Apollo missions numbering up to Apollo 17. The only mission that failed to reach the moon’s surface was Apollo 13, which suffered a critical power and oxygen failure mid-flight, and was forced to make a heroic emergency reentry.
As of last month, ULA only has 29 RD-180 engines left for its Atlas 5 and all of those are booked so the BE-4/Vulcan setup is kind of critical and the clock is ticking. NASA and USSF can’t solely rely on SpaceX (though they really can) when performing risk mitigation so BO will get a trickle of money from the government in hopes of getting the BE-4 to an operational state.
“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
“Germans?”
“Forget it, he’s rolling.”
/bingo
Yeah, and?
Bezos knows they won't sue when he can't deliverr, at least not right away.
/bingo
[snip] It is designed to be compatible with multiple launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, Delta IV, and Falcon 9, as well as the planned Vulcan Centaur.[10][23]
Unlike earlier United States space capsules, Starliner will make airbag-cushioned landings on the ground rather than into water. Five landing areas are planned in the Western United States, which will give the Starliner about 450 landing opportunities every year. [/snip]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Starliner#Background
If you look at Boeing and the Starliner fiasco, they are taking it in the shorts right now as the contract only allows for payment when milestones are reach and they haven’t so they are bleeding money profusely with a NET of a test launch not taking place until next year. BO and Bezos are steadily sinking further into their incompetence and the only thing they have in their quiver is to file lawsuits against their competitors in hopes of slowing them down so they can try to catch up. Go to https://nasaspaceflight.com if you want to get into the weeds of what’s transpiring with all of these space programs — lots of great info and pictures too!
Bezos has some inobvious agenda, imho. Overall, it isn't surprising that Elon Musk has been beating Bezos' ass for years now, Musk has a lifelong background in technical ideas and physics, and Bezos just runs an online garage sale.
Screw Bozo, Branson, Boring, Lockmart, Artemis, Blue Origin and the rest.
SpaceX will soon fly Starship on its first orbital flight. When does reusability change everything? - Sep 28, 2021 (19m.33)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZs9svGKGw
(Starship) Ship 20 Proof Testing Begins | SpaceX Boca Chica - Sep 29, 2021 (19m.46)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag8ij8OvtQE
Elon Talks about Starship Program, Starlink, and Mars Plan - Sep 29, 2021 (10m.23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHgTl_44Ero
If You Hate Elon Musk Watch This Video - It Will Change Your Mind, Elon Musk’s Speech - Aug 12, 2021 (24m.28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9D4ifGzndY
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