Boeing Starliner’s glitch seems to be more serious than it was reported earlier. There have been many failures with valves in the propulsion system forcing NASA to delay the launch further. Starliner, which is Boeing’s hope for ferrying NASA astronauts to the ISS, has seen several setbacks in the last few years.
Previously, the Orbital Flight Test-2 launch was slated to happen in July end, but issues at the ISS delayed that. The space outpost was sent off course when the freshly-arrived Russian module Nauka unexpectedly fired up its thrusters.
Issues bigger than reported earlier
Boeing and NASA rescheduled the launch, but a new glitch derailed that plan as well. Eventually, it was decided to bring Starliner back inside for further investigation.
Boeing said, “teams powered up the spacecraft to receive data and send commands to the propulsion system valves that unexpectedly indicated “closed” positions early in the launch countdown on Tuesday. The transmitted commands successfully opened some of the valves, giving the team new data to assess while also beginning physical inspections.”
Now, in a mission update, the company has revealed that the valve issues are more widespread than many assumed earlier. The company later confirmed that it had “restored functionality on more of the 13 CST-100 Starliner propulsion system valves that did not open as designed during prelaunch system checks last week.”
Boeing hopes for another attempt soon
The valves do not show damage, the company said, and its engineers “are now applying mechanical, electrical and thermal techniques to prompt the valves open.” As of now, seven out of 13 are working as intended.
“The valves connect to thrusters that enable abort and in-orbit maneuvering,” NASA explains. “If all valve functionality can be restored and root cause identified, NASA will work with Boeing to determine a path to flight for the important uncrewed mission to the space station.”
Boeing hopes to figure out things and get the spacecraft ready for another attempt. Starliner’s first flight in 2019 wasn’t successful, as it failed to follow its targeted orbit. However, the spacecraft did not crash and landed safely two days later in New Mexico.
