Posted on 08/07/2024 6:02:27 AM PDT by Salman
SpaceX has delayed this month's Crew-9 astronaut launch to Sept. 24, to accommodate a traffic jam at the International Space Station as Boeing's Starliner remains stalled at the orbiting laboratory.
SpaceX was scheduled to launch its ninth operational flight for NASA with four astronauts to the ISS on Aug. 18, before the space agency announced the delay Monday.
"This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory," NASA said.
Boeing's new Starliner capsule launched June 5, with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS. Despite plans to return Starliner and its crew to Earth a week later, NASA has repeatedly delayed the mission for two months so Crew Flight Test members can study Starliner's issues that include five failed reaction control system thrusters.
As SpaceX delays this month's launch, NASA will use the time to determine the flightworthiness of Starliner and whether it is safe to bring Williams and Wilmore home.
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(Excerpt) Read more at spacedaily.com ...
Well, NASA is going to get some of their employees killed. Their families should be lawyering up now. NASA and SS in cahoots.
I strongly suspect they already are -- and have been advised to avoid publicity at least for now.
If I were an astronaut, there is no way I would get into that Starliner. (My spellcheck changed that to “Strainer” which might be more appropriate)
(The "Russian side" ports only support Soyuz; American spacecraft can't use them even if the Russians would let us.)
Now they're saying that Starleaker's software won't support an autonomous undock and landing, and they need 4 weeks to develop, test, and upload the software. (They're worried about the Starleaker undocking and then going out-of-control and damaging the ISS.)
Which leads me to believe that NASA isn't convinced that Starleaker is safe to fly home, and CrewDragon will rescue the astronauts one way or the other.
I am sitting in rural N Nevada sage & sand & I can determine that STARLINER is not coming home with passengers.
MUSK is their only hope.
I am waiting for a Meme showing Elon pulling up to the Space Station in Space X Dragon and saying, “Need a ride home?”
Williams and Wilmore will be offered very large compensation packages should the flight back fail.
Boeing, OTOH, is going to get killed. And rightly so.
They are also saying that there is no way to jettison Starliner as it could destroy the ISS. The former Starliner WAS both autonomous docking and undocking, the code was removed from this one...why? Software has no weight so why remove it? Seems that NASA has abandoned it’s crew safety above all and developed a attitude of hubris.
Headline is misleading. It is NASA who called the delay, not SpaceX.
By the time the Starliner crew gets back to earth, the planet will be ruled by apes.
How many seats are on the SpaceX Dragon capsule currently docked? I know they are capable of having 7 seats, but weren't some removed for the last launch to hold more cargo other than the few astronauts on board?
Technically, SpaceX could send another Dragon crew capsule with 7 seats, after allowing the current crew capsule to depart with a few crew members, and then dock the 7-seat version and load up with the remaining astronauts and safely return all to Earth.
Only after the ISS is depopulated, then the failed Starliner capsule can attempt undocking. If it crashes into the ISS during undocking, at least all humans will have safely left.
Boeing Stallliner
The ISS isn't built to fly unmanned. They need to figure out how to safely get rid of Starleaker, and they have a month (or so) to do it.
Hopefully instructions not written by Ikea staff.
I forgot about the custom made space suits, tailored specifically for each SpaceX Crew Dragon rider.
NASA should not allow the Starliner capsule to depart, unless all astronauts leave the ISS. Way too risky, risking a collision with the ISS. Previous departures of capsules have them go through many maneuvers in order to prevent a mishap, and there is no guarantee of Starliner safely doing those maneuvers. Get the people out of there, and let the ISS die. Private space companies can build a better space station.
There is always the option of using the robotic arm to hold and maneuver starliner out of the way of the docking port. Once the software is installed to unlock or remotely. Just move the arm and grab onto one POS then undock it unpowered so no risk of impact use the arm to hold it at bay long enough to dock Crew 9 with extra seats and compatible space suits for the NASA peeps. The docking adapter on the front of both Dragon and Starliner are IDA compliant but both are in the active mode. SpaceX could send up a cargo Dragon with a dual mode IDA adapter ring on it then it can be the passive mode side and dock nose to nose to starliner still being held by the robot arm once docked to the junker release the robot arm and let that cargo Dragon pull the trash out to sea for them. You would never need anything other than the unlock software to work in that case.
“Starleaker”
Lol..I’m totally stealing that. My sister works for Boeing not in the space div I’m constantly ribbing her about their DEI debacle. She like everyone else in the fam is a PhD in addition she is a research fellow and double post doctoral work so most certainly not a DEI hire she was top of her aeronautical engineering PhD class with a 4.0 GPA an actual rocket scientist in the fam. Makes us earth science guys look bad even with PhDs and post docs as well.
starliner can not be grabbled by the robotic arm does not have fixture atached to it neither does dragon.
NASA, now just another institution that has become useless.
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