Starliner launch

[Doom-the-Squirrel]

Anyone else looking forward to the launch of the Boeing Starliner?

Any thoughts on this new mission and spacecraft?



Here's a link to United Launch Alliance's update page.

https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/atlas-v-oft


Incidentally, I know the Falcon 9 is all the rage, but I'm still a fan of the Atlas V. 

[ebastler]

I guess Elon Musk and his SpaceX team are the only ones pleased with the outcome... 

[German_EE]

Millions of dollars in costs to get the thing into orbit and they screw up the software again. Plus the good folk in the ISS don't get their Christmas presents.

The coverage on NASA TV was a disaster as well as the signals kept on dropping out so they had to fall back on launch pad cameras and leave the presenters with nothing to do.

Not impressed. Musk may be an idiot at times but SpaceX are much better at this sort of thing.

[chris_leyson]

According to the post launch press conference they reckon that the mission timer was off and instead of doing an orbital insertion burn Starliner was busy wasting fuel doing attitude correction burns. When mission control spotted the problem Starliner lost comms with the TDRS satellite and had to wait several mintes to get a link to the next TDRS satellite. Maybe if they hadn't lost the TDRS link mission control could have acted sooner and got Starliner to perform the insertion burn.

Starliner is due to land at White Sands New Mexico 07.57 AM local time 12.57 GMT, not expecting any live coverage given that the launch coverage was terrible. Hope re-entry and landing goes OK for them.

NASA live stream https://youtu.be/21X5lGlDOfg

[Brumby]

Millions of dollars in costs to get the thing into orbit and they screw up the software again.

It's not as if it's rocket science ... oh ... wait.

[iMo]

There is a live coverage at NASA page. Deorbit burn in 14minutes..
PS: hopefully, their software knows they have 270kg of Christmas gifts still on board

[Black Phoenix]

Yup successful landing at least... Now ask SpaceX to sent the presents and show how stuff is done!  Just kidding, the biggest amount of respect for Boeing and SpaceX for keep trying and innovate into the new frontier.

[StillTrying]

Is this the first time a failed non-human payload has been recovered without damage, by anyone.

[iMo]

NASA is back in 60ties again..

[StillTrying]

NASA is back in 60ties again..

No, in the 60s they could launch people, now they can't.

[chris_leyson]

The autonomous flight control computers got the capsule down safely and it was the first successful land touchdown for a US built capsule so that bit of the flight control software worked out OK. At the post launch press coference it was implied that if there were astronauts abord then they could have fixed the orbital insertion burn problem. But what if the thrust control systems had gone berserk during re-entry then what ?.

On the two recent 737 MAX disasters there were pilots abord and they couldn't fix the autonomous flight control problems but then they don't get as much training as astronauts. Just saying.

First maned flight of either Starliner or Dragon scheduled for early 2020, which would you fly with ?

[iMo]

https://www.space.com/boeing-ceo-muilenburg-resigns.html

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

NASA live stream https://youtu.be/21X5lGlDOfg

Oh dear, ^^^ that's 12 hours of pure rubbish! That's what you get for 20 billion dollars a year? Does it take 17336 employees to do that?

Now they can't take men to the ISS, yesteryear they could put them on the moon and more than once. Can't even make proper videos anymore for God's sake! And BTW, why are them all smiling all the time for no reason, like fools? What a bunch of weirdos...

Sorry US of A guys, but you should ask your moneys back.

[maginnovision]

64$ a year? That's fine. Also I have multiple family members working for JPL which works closely with NASA so I'd rather they still have jobs. Made it to mars alright. The helicopter will probably make it too.

[Red Squirrel]

I wonder if they just upload the Max8 software for the deorbit sequence. 

[Doom-the-Squirrel]

I wonder if they just upload the Max8 software for the deorbit sequence. 

D'oh!
 


I think Boeing will fix this problem and light their candle again.
After all, SpaceX took a while to get their act together as well.

At least we got the spacecraft back in one piece.
SpaceX had a functional spacecraft (or rocket, rather) blow up (no matter what spin Musk tried to put on it).

[SeanB]

when the auditor checks
boeing protests when being called out as being more expensive (just like their "subsidiary" ULA rockets)
https://www.space.com/boeing-objects-commercial-crew-oig-report.html
https://oig.nasa.gov/audits/auditReports.html

boeing have 2x the NASA funding compared to SPACEX, 5x in years dabbling in space than SPACEX which is really a noob comparatively. and they have prior partnership with lockheed which they created ULA to pop things into space. ULA got called out as being a traitor buying russian engines ... and now this.

so where did all the money goto if they spent 2x more money have 5x more years in cumulative experience and "space" math ...

and yet NASA approves

in another audit report, they found NASA spent a $200million budget for suits in 2017 and was not able to produce any new space suits. and SPACEX broke this trend again. the AG did not call for another senate query on why spacex was able to develop a cheaper suit, although untested. i bet they will, once they start tests.

i think NASA is as crooked "weird" as FAA

Just follow the "campaign contributions", along with the mysterious piles of cash deposited into numbered accounts in Greater Caymans banks, and you will know the reason why.

[TerraHertz]

Boeing has SJW-disease, aka 'old white male engineers are eeeeevil and must be expunged' syndrome. With results like the 737-Max fatal fiasco, reports from Boeing factories of terrible workmanship and morale, and the new 777X airframe that ruptured during a pressure test in Sept this year. A pattern one suspects is related to the Starliner software screwup.

It will take Boeing a while longer to completely collapse and cease to exist, but failing a revolution in their management strata, they will. Already hemorrhaging cash due to the 737 grounding & production-halt disaster.

SJW, PC-diversity, virtue-signalling, delusional fakery does not produce workable bridges, aircraft or spacecraft.

[ebastler]

Boeing has SJW-disease, aka 'old white male engineers are eeeeevil and must be expunged' syndrome. [...]. SJW, PC-diversity, virtue-signalling, delusional fakery does not produce workable bridges, aircraft or spacecraft.

Or they might just have turned greedy, putting revenue growth and profit above quality?

What do you base your theory on? (Apart from the fact that you might be an old white male engineer and not feeling great lately?)