https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/science/boeing-starliner-nasa-spacex.html
The starliner astronauts are coming back on Space X.
4 Likes
Oh no. The Boeing “JCs” will insist “the government needs to give us more money for Starliner, because “jobs””.
Steve
3 Likes
It is official. Starliner is coming back empty.
5 Likes
I’d like to see the prop bets that the unoccupied Starliner will have some deadly malfunction that would have killed the astronauts had then been aboard.
intercst
If they can get it unstuck.
And now there’s another problem.
And has anyone heard about results from the massive software upgrade they were performing on the Starliner’s control systems earlier this month?
DB2
1 Like
Put me down for it landing safely.
Manned space flight is risky. There’s no way around that. You have to set your risk threshold and know that you’re never 100% certain of a safe flight.
My guess is that Boeing can’t be sure enough that the astronauts will be safe. Just taking a wild guess, they might want something like 95% odds of a safe flight. But all of their software tweaking and analysis might be leaving them with 80% odds. So no manned return.
But the odds would still favor a safe return, just not safe enough to risk lives on it.
That, or the big wigs decided that the current black eye won’t get all that much worse by letting their astronauts fly home on SpaceX. But killing them would be a disaster to their stock bonuses.
—Peter
3 Likes
The Space X mission will include 2 extra compatible space suits for the Boeing crew.
intercst
2 Likes
Meanwhile, on the commercial side, last week the “news” reported the FAA is investigating several incidents of 78s suffering sudden and unintended loss of alititude, and the 77X prototype suffered a structural failure, iirc in an engine pylon.
Steve
3 Likes
I am now waiting for legacy media to spin this as an anti Elon and anti SpaceX story.
1 Like
A fool and his astroid are easily parted.
1 Like