Will the Starliner ever leave its launch pad? The aerospace company Boeing has given up the attempt to take off its ‘space taxi’ this Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with two astronauts on board after the unsuccessful attempt on Saturday. The launch, the … first crew of the spacecraft, was automatically interrupted by a ground launch sequencer (GLS) computer at just three minutes and 50 seconds for reasons that are not yet clear. The ship will not leave before June 5. Starliner is a fundamental objective for the aerospace giant, since it will allow it to compete with SpaceX, which is four years ahead of it in transferring astronauts to the orbital platform.
Starliner had previously taken off on two unmanned flights – one in 2019 and another in 2022 – but several technical problems had delayed the first test flight with astronauts. The first attempt occurred on May 6, but had to be interrupted due to a defective valve in the rocket that had to be replaced. In addition, technicians found a helium leak in one of the thrusters. In the end, NASA decided that the leak was not a problem and set the new launch date for Saturday, June 1, but that was not to be.
On this occasion, the problem arose less than four minutes after takeoff when one of the computers stopped the countdown. The two astronauts on board, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, eventually abandoned the capsule. “It’s disappointing,” said NASA commercial crew program director Steve Stich after the failed launch attempt. “Everyone is a little disappointed, but you roll up your sleeves and get back to work,” he added.
Tory Bruno, executive director of ULA, has noted that a faulty computer card appears to have caused the launch to be halted. The card is located in one of the computers that make up the ground launch sequencer system that controls the final phase of the rocket’s countdown. The problem could be solved by exchanging the card for another, something that could not be done until the rocket was emptied of propellant and technicians could safely approach it.
Starliner had a new opportunity this Sunday, but finally NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance (ULA), the builder of the Atlas V rocket that must propel the Starliner, gave up the new attempt to have time to try to understand the cause of the automatic abort, as NASA has written on its website. As things stand, Starliner will not have a new launch window until June 5 at 16:52 Spanish peninsular time.
The goal of this first crewed test flight is to take its two passengers to the ISS and return safely. Wilmore and Williams have each visited the orbital station twice before. The spacecraft will dock at the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 7:50 p.m. Monday and the astronauts will remain on the ISS for about a week before returning to Earth aboard the reusable capsule, which will make an assisted landing. by parachutes and airbags in the southwestern United States.
Over the course of the mission, astronauts and ground technicians will test Starliner’s hardware and software to ensure it is safe for future missions. The capsule, reusable ten times, will carry four astronauts, or a combination of crew and cargo, for NASA missions in low Earth orbit.
After the end of NASA’s shuttles, American astronauts had to resort to Russian Soyuz spacecraft to travel to the ISS. To end this dependence, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX two billion-dollar contracts in 2014 to develop new manned spacecraft. SpaceX knew how to take advantage of the opportunity and in 2020 carried out the first manned flight of its Dragon capsule. Now, if Boeing manages to solve its problems, the game may be more evenly distributed.
NASA hopes to alternate SpaceX and Boeing flights to transport its astronauts to the ISS. Starting in 2030, when NASA leaves the station, the two ships can be used for trips to future private space stations.
