Starliner NASA launch: A chance for Boeing reset after a tide of bad headlines
Boeing’s first spaceship to wear a human crew should be launched on Saturday from Florida. If everything goes as planned, the mission will bring astronauts to the international space station and will prove to NASA that Boeing can be a reliable transport partner.
The Starliner capsule should take off from 12:25 p.m. on June 1. It was a long trip to get to this point: NASA postponed the launch five times this month in the midst of technical concerns. This follows years of delays and costs that operate $ 1 billion compared to the budget.
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams are expected to test the spaceship systems at the space station for about seven days, before landing in the southwest of the United States.
Why we wrote this
The Boeing brand has drawn success from several disturbing incidents. On Saturday, the company plans to launch a space crew flight to prove that it can successfully transport astronauts to the space station.
A successful launch would be a marked moment for Boeing and help consolidate a new commercial space flight era. The Starliner is the second of the two contracts awarded to NASA to private companies to harm astronauts at the space station.
Why is this launch of Starliner important?
Transport safely Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams is a crucial priority. A successful launch would also provide NASA with a second American spaceship capable of transporting astronauts to and from space station.
“It was really important that the nation has a strategy where we would have several companies having the capacity to take humans in space,” explains Kay Sears, vice-president and general manager of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Starliner also has separate capacities such as allowing astronauts to maneuver the capsule as if they were piloting an airplane, says Ms. Sears. “There are certain situations where we really want astronauts to be able to take control if they need it, so it is a unique feature.”
The SpaceX Dragon crew has launched 50 people in 13 flights to the space station since 2020, while Boeing’s Endeavour has been responsible for challenges.
Boeing finished a successful test of a Starliner mission not linked to the space station in 2022. Once the Starliner has finished this crew flight, NASA intends to use the trade for regular missions carrying four astronauts both to the space station.
Starliner’s launch aims to reduce NASA’s dependence on Russia for low orbit space flights. Since the NASA retreat in 2011, he used Russian shuttles to send American astronauts to the space station, more recently with American Tracy Dyson joining a Bélarus and a Russian cosmonaut during a launch in March 2024. Although the United States and Russia are currently cooperating with regard to space flights, the tense political situation between the two powers increased dependence on America with regard to the Russian space program.
Having two reliable spaceships to alternate the two would allow the United States to maintain a coherent human presence on the space station, which has been operated by NASA and its international partners since 1998.
“You cannot direct and you cannot shape the rules if you do not show up. So, human space flight is to appear in a region that we already really depend – but we do not control. And we therefore want to shape the rules of this environment, ”explains Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute for George Washington University.
How does it fit into the global plans of NASA?
NASA focuses on its commercial crew program since its retirement from its space shuttle fleet in 2011. Its objective is to develop a safe and profitable human transport to the space station thanks to partnerships with private companies. NASA hopes to let these companies execute shuttle missions while focusing on deep space efforts.
“The real question is, what comes after the space station?” said Mr. Pace. He underlines that there have been a number of proposals to build small commercial space stations in low terrestrial orbit which could help the development of technology or space tourism.
NASA plans to remove the space station in 2030 by crushing it in the ocean. To which an international space station could look like in the future is not clear, with three companies – Axiom Space, Voyager Space and Blue Origin – in the running to win a NASA partnership.
“I think it is a natural progress in our space program. This allows taxpayers a lot of dollars because these companies are encouraged to innovate and reduce costs so that they can bring additional customers, “said Lori Garver, former assistant director of NASA and principal researcher at the Belfer Center at Harvard University.
Why is it a big test for Boeing in particular?
Boeing could use a public relations victory at the moment after a series of negative news on its commercial aviation activity. Boeing faced a meticulous public exam after several problems with his 737 jets, including a panel that blows a flight from Alaska Alaska in January shortly after takeoff.
The landing of the Starliner capsule on earth would be the success of a project of several billion dollars and several years. The first two private contracts were awarded to Boeing and SpaceX in 2014, for $ 4.2 billion and $ 2.6 billion, respectively.
SpaceX experienced a handful of failures before launching the successful crew, and he also dealt with delays for several years and budgetary exceeding. More recently, the launch of Starliner was put in the ground on May 6 about two hours before takeoff due to a defective valve on the Atlas V rocket which transports the capsule to space. A second launch attempt scheduled for May 17 has been canceled when a small helium leak was found in the Starliner propulsion system.
Boeing and NASA will learn from this test flight, explains Ms. Sears, who notes that a successful launch “would make confidence with our customers and our employees”.
Finding problems before launch is part of the diligence, explains Mr. Pace. “No one likes delays, but it’s just part of the process of doing things well,” explains Mr. Pace. He notes that the cost of management of the Boeing space program can ultimately prove to be more important for the company than delays.
“There is certainly a question of whether they will continue the program after having respected their commitments to NASA, because it was a great costly success for the company,” he said. “I think they can overcome reputation problems. I think they can overcome and solve their technical problems, but you know, finances are finances. ”
