The Decision Is Made - Boeing Might Be Safe? But SpaceX Is SAFER!
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Scott Manley discusses the challenges faced by Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which was set to carry astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sita Williams to the International Space Station. Due to ongoing issues with the thrusters and helium leaks, NASA decided to switch their return to a SpaceX Crew Dragon. The video also covers the implications of this decision, including the impact on future missions and the unique situation of having two active crew spacecraft in operation.
Takeaways
- 🚀 The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced multiple delays and issues, including software problems, valve position problems, and thruster issues, which have affected its readiness for crewed missions.
- 👨🚀 Astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams, initially scheduled to return on a Starliner, will now use a SpaceX Crew Dragon due to concerns over the Starliner's thruster performance.
- 🔄 The first Starliner test flight encountered software issues that almost prevented it from reaching orbit, leading to a change in plans for subsequent missions.
- 🛠️ A second uncrewed test flight was delayed due to problems with valve positions and corrosion in the propulsion system, which required a teardown and rebuild.
- 🔧 Even after reaching the International Space Station, the Starliner faced further issues with wiring harnesses and parachute harnesses that needed to be addressed.
- 🛰️ Despite reaching the ISS, the Starliner's thrusters began to show performance outside of specifications, prompting an extended stay for Butch and Suni for further investigation.
- 🔬 Engineers have been working to replicate and understand the thruster issues on the ground, with theories including heat retention affecting Teflon seals in the thrusters' oxidizer valves.
- 🔄 The original plan for the Crew Dragon (Crew 9) has been disrupted by the Starliner's extended stay, leading to changes in the crew manifest and potential reconfiguration of the mission.
- 👥 The decision to switch astronauts from the Starliner to the Crew Dragon has implications for the crew manifest, with experienced astronauts potentially being prioritized for the return flight.
- 👕 The astronauts will need to use SpaceX suits for their return, as the Boeing suits are not compatible with the SpaceX spacecraft.
- 📈 This situation highlights the complexity and challenges of spaceflight, as well as the importance of safety and thorough investigation in human space exploration.
Q & A
What is the current status of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft?
-The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has been facing several technical issues, including problems with valve positions, corrosion, wiring harnesses, parachute harnesses, and thrusters. Despite these challenges, it has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), but NASA has decided to use a SpaceX Crew Dragon for the return of astronauts Barry 'Butch' Wilmore and Sunita 'Suni' Williams due to unresolved concerns with the Starliner's thrusters.
Why are astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, also known as 'B and S', staying longer on the ISS?
-Butch and Sunita are staying longer on the ISS because NASA wants to further investigate the thruster issues with the Starliner spacecraft. As a result, they will return to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon instead of the Starliner, which was initially planned.
What was the initial plan for the Starliner's first crewed test flight?
-The initial plan for the Starliner's first crewed test flight was to carry two astronauts to the ISS. However, due to various technical issues, the plan has been altered, and the spacecraft is now only carrying cargo and a plushy Kerbal toy.
What issues were identified during the Starliner's second uncrewed test flight?
-During the second uncrewed test flight, problems with valve positions were discovered, leading to an aborted launch. The spacecraft had to be taken back for repairs, which included tearing down and rebuilding the propulsion system due to corrosion caused by the interaction between the propellant and moisture in the air.
What is the significance of the 'dog houses' on the Starliner spacecraft?
-The 'dog houses' are structures on the side of the Starliner spacecraft that house the thrusters. One theory suggests that these structures may be retaining too much heat, leading to issues with the thrusters' performance during extended firings.
What modifications were made to the Soyuz spacecraft after the Columbia disaster in 2003?
-After the Columbia disaster, the Soyuz spacecraft underwent modifications to become the Soyuz TMA series, which included extending the size of the couches and making other adjustments. This new version was used as a return vehicle for the Expedition 6 crew, who had to return to Earth on the Soyuz after their initial ride, the Space Shuttle, was lost.
Why was the launch of the Starliner's crewed test flight delayed in May?
-The launch was delayed due to a chattering oxygen relief valve on the Atlas 5 rocket's Centaur upper stage. This required the entire booster to be rolled back for valve replacement, which took a month to complete.
What is the current plan for the return of Butch and Sunita to Earth?
-The current plan is for Butch and Sunita to return to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, as opposed to the Starliner, due to the ongoing concerns with the Starliner's thruster performance.
How has the Starliner's issues impacted the schedule of other missions?
-The Starliner's issues have caused a domino effect on the schedule of other missions. For instance, the Crew Dragon for the Crew-9 mission has been delayed because the Starliner is occupying its parking spot at the ISS.
What are the implications of having two different active crew spacecraft for the US?
-Having two different active crew spacecraft provides the US with the luxury of choosing between them based on safety and mission requirements. It also ensures redundancy and flexibility in space travel, which is crucial for maintaining a continuous human presence in space.
What is the current contingency plan if there is an emergency on the ISS while the Starliner is undocked?
-The current contingency plan involves the astronauts strapping themselves to the cargo area underneath the seats on the ISS, as the Starliner's suits are not compatible with SpaceX's suits, and there is no dedicated return spacecraft available during that period.
Outlines
🚀 Starliner's Flight Challenges and Crew Adjustments
This paragraph discusses the journey of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which faced multiple setbacks including software issues on its first flight, valve problems leading to a launch abort in July 2021, and thruster issues during its mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The decision was made for astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, initially scheduled to return on Starliner, to use a SpaceX Crew Dragon instead due to safety concerns. The paragraph also touches on the history of the Starliner program, including its initial test flight failures and the eventual successful docking with the ISS in May 2022.
🔧 Engineering Efforts to Address Starliner's Thruster Issues
The second paragraph delves into the engineering challenges faced with Starliner's thrusters, which exhibited performance outside of specifications during the mission. Extensive testing at White Sands Missile Range aimed to replicate and understand the issues, with theories suggesting that heat retention in the 'dog houses' might be causing Teflon seals to distort. Despite some engines returning to normal performance in orbit, the risk could not be fully quantified, leading to the decision to switch the return vehicle for Wilmore and Williams to a Crew Dragon, impacting the crew manifest for the upcoming Crew 9 mission.
🛰 Contingencies and Crew Rotation Impacts on ISS
This paragraph outlines the implications of the decision to switch return vehicles for the ISS crew, including the need for additional SpaceX suits and the impact on the crew rotation for the upcoming Crew 9 mission. It discusses the potential reassignment of astronauts and the complexities of managing the limited seats on the spacecraft. The paragraph also highlights the unique situation of having two active crew spacecraft and the historical context of crew changes on the ISS, including instances where crews have used different vehicles for ascent and descent.
🌌 Record High Astronaut Numbers and ISS Crew Changes
The final paragraph touches on the potential record of having 22 humans in space at the same time due to overlapping missions, including the ISS crew change and a Blue Origin suborbital flight. It also discusses the history of Soyuz spacecraft changes on the ISS and the unique case of the Expedition 6 crew, who had to return to Earth on a Soyuz following the Columbia disaster. The paragraph concludes with a mention of Scott Manley's role as a spaceflight commentator and a note on the potential for future videos on related topics.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Boeing Starliner
💡International Space Station (ISS)
💡Astronauts
💡SpaceX Crew Dragon
💡Thrust Issues
💡Helium System Leaks
💡Service Module
💡Teflon Seals
💡Undocking
💡Space Tourism
💡Ballistic Re-entry
Highlights
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft prepares to carry astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the International Space Station.
The astronauts, known as 'B and S', will spend two months on the ISS and are expected to return on a SpaceX spacecraft due to Starliner issues.
NASA's decision to switch the return spacecraft from Starliner to SpaceX was made after extensive testing and analysis.
The first Starliner test flight faced software issues that nearly prevented it from reaching orbit.
A second uncrewed test flight was planned but delayed multiple times due to valve position problems and corrosion issues.
The Starliner's successful launch in May 2022 to the ISS carried a plushy Kerbal as a symbol of safety confirmation.
Further issues with wiring harnesses and parachute harnesses were addressed before the crew test could proceed.
The Atlas 5 Starliner launch in June was delayed due to a chattering oxygen relief valve in the Centaur booster.
During the current mission, problems with the spacecraft's thrusters and helium leaks have been identified.
Engineers are investigating the thruster issues to understand and mitigate potential catastrophic failures.
Butch and Sunit will extend their stay on the ISS to allow for thorough investigation of the thruster problems.
The service module of the Starliner, which contains the problematic engines, will be jettisoned and cannot be tested post-mission.
Tests at White Sands have suggested that heat retention in the 'dog houses' may be causing thruster performance issues.
The risk associated with the thruster issues has not been quantified to a level that allows for safe crewed flight.
The original Crew Dragon mission (Crew 9) may be altered due to the need to accommodate the extended stay of Butch and Sunit.
The Starliner's departure from the ISS will require software updates and potentially affect the contingency return plans for the station.
A Soyuz crew changeover will temporarily increase the ISS population to 12, a significant number not seen since the shuttle era.
This is not the first time astronauts have switched spacecraft for return trips, with historical precedents including the Columbia disaster.
Transcripts
hello it's Scott Manley here three
months ago boing Starliner rolled out of
its integration facility getting ready
to carry two astronauts to the
International Space Station Barry
Wilmore and Sita Williams better known
as B and sunny and now even better known
beyond your average space flight nerd as
the story of this flight has been
carried by Major news channels on the
account of the fact that uh but and
sunny have spent the last two months on
the International Space Station and
aren't going home until next year and if
everything is going to plan they'll be
going home on a SpaceX spacecraft rather
than a Bo spacecraft that is the
decision which was announced yesterday
after weeks of testing analysis and
meetings on this subject it's decided
that instead of risking the crew on the
Starliner spacecraft which has a few
issues NASA is only going to send up two
astronauts on crew 9 and after a
six-month rotation but and sunny will
return home on that spacecraft initially
only two test flights had been planned
but on the very first Starliner flight
there were software issues which led to
the spacecraft almost not making it to
orbit and being unable to reach the
International Space Station so plans
were changed a second test flight with
no crew was planned and this one after
many delays was ready to launch at the
end of July
2021 that was when they found problems
with valve positions in the spacecraft
and uh they had to abort the launch take
it all the way back literally tear down
the propulsion system and rebuild it
because there were issues with a
corrosion due to the propellent
interacting with moisture in the air
apparently this led to basically like
almost a year delay it wasn't until May
of 2022 that they finally launched and
made it to the space station of course
carrying a little uh plushy Kerbal with
them too and so that proved that the
spacecraft was finally safe and so with
that they proved the spacecraft was safe
for flight they could move forward with
the crew test right but no no they had
to go and fix issues with wiring
harnesses that were potentially
combustible they had uh issues with the
parachute harnesses and they had to fix
those but eventually in may they were
ready to go in May the atlas 5 Starliner
rolls out to the pad uh Butch and sunny
are sitting on board counting down to
launch and then bizarrely the launch
ends up being delayed because the
booster has a problem the outlas 5 in
Centaur has been an incredibly reliable
booster but in this case there is a
chattering oxygen relief valve that
means it's opening and closing very
quickly and making a you know a sound
and so they have to roll the entire
booster back to fix this and replacing a
valve on a centor uh is Complicated by
the fact that the Cent
is stabilized by its own pressure so if
you're going to take a pressure valve
off it'll lose that pressure it needs a
whole supporting structure to hold up
the tank while they're performing the
valve replacement that's why it took
them a month before they finally
launched in early June and on this
flight the one that we are currently in
the middle of they have problems with
their thrusters there's two things first
of all there's uh leaks in the helium
system and look helium is a tricky
bugger it will try to escape via any
opportunity you give so like okay you
know people solve these problems over
time the the bigger problem is that the
thrusters they are using to control the
spacecraft are starting to perform out
of spec and the systems warning them
that they're having to take the
thrusters offline because if the
Thruster is not performing you know to
it specification there's a chance that
something is going wrong it's damaging
itself it's potentially going to fail in
some more catastrophic way but they're
able to work through this and approach
the space station safely and perform a
docking to the ISS and so now they're
safely at the space station they can uh
stretch their legs get on board have
some fun talk to their new friends
because they're going to be hanging out
these people for a little longer than
they expected I mean the initial mission
was supposed to be a couple of weeks but
in the interest of safety um Engineers
on the ground want to investigate these
Thruster issues and see if there's
something that they can understand they
you know they look at the helium issues
and it turns out that while a lot of the
talk early on it's about helium leaks
that's not the showstopper it's these
thrusters and it's not that thrusters
are necessarily performing that far out
of spec but as an engineer you want to
understand what is going on because if
you don't understand these small out of
spec me uh readings could actually be
harbingers of something much more
catastrophic about to happen and we see
this all the time in aviation where
minor issues get ignored and
misunderstood and they turn into major
disasters so Butch and sunny find out
early on that they're going to be
spending a little extra time on the
International Space Station meanwhile
the boing and aerojet Rocket D engineers
get to work trying to replicate the
problems that they have seen uh with the
engines and so they're doing engine
firings at white stands sand test range
and I'm sure over the last 2 and a half
months these Engineers have been putting
in a lot of overtime trying to
understand this problem because these
engines are all in the service module
and the service module is going to get
ditched it's going to burn up so they
won't be able to bring them back for
testing the engines sit in these uh
structures on the side of the spacecraft
they're in a cluster here these are
called dog houses and one of the
theories is that the dog houses are
allowing too much heat to be retained
and so when they're doing these a lot of
Thruster firings over time the heat is
reaching higher temperatures than it has
during the tests and the tests at White
Sands have shown that the some of the
Teflon seals used to drive the valves
are expanding and distorting and
restricting the the oxidizer valves
which in turn means that the thrusters
aren't turning on with as high a
performance as expected and that sounds
totally plausible as an explanation but
you know there's a few questions still
for example they subsequently did tests
of the engines on in orbit and some of
the engines returned to normal
performance so they need to figure out
how the Teflon seals are you know not
getting in the way after they were
getting in the way they need to quantify
this risk and frankly they haven't been
able to quantify the risk to the level
that is required to trust it for to put
crew on board and there's two concerns
here one is that the spacecraft could
would just fail to reach re-entry which
I think is highly unlikely because they
still have Reserve thrusters on the
capsule itself but equally during
departure from the ISS they could get
into a situation where the the
trajectory is going to carry it back
into the ISS and cause some damage and
there just really isn't the knowledge to
understand this problem that's why Butch
and sunny are going to be switching
their return ride from a Starliner to
the crew n dragon and that was
originally supposed to have launched by
now but it has been delayed because
Starliner has been occupying its parking
spot at the space station now a crew
dragon has four seats and the original
plan for crew 9 was going to be Zena
Cardman Nick hag and Stephanie Wilson
along with Ros Cosmos Cosmonaut
Alexander gorinov but of course if
they're going to have two extra
passengers on the way down they need to
get rid of two people and it's not clear
who is actually going to fly on crew n
now you might think that Zena Cardman
and Nick hag would be the two because
they were in the center seats and they
were training for that role she was the
mission Commander but Zena is a rookie
she's never been to the ISS and NASA
wants any spacecraft going to the ISS to
have crew on board that has that
experience the Ross Cosmos Cosa
Alexander coronov he has no ISS
experience either so uh if Ros Cosmos
requ Rees him to be on board that means
that Zena can't go and so that would
suggest then that Nick ha has to become
the commander so I would bet if Ros
Cosmos does their thing that it'll be
Nick and Alexander but that's all up in
the air right now they could pick
somebody completely different now
because the Dave Clark's suits used on
the boing are not compatible with
spacex's suits they'll have to bring up
a pair of suits for the crew there there
is a SpaceX suit on orbit but that is
the the contingency suit for Tracy
Caldwell dieson who flew up in a soyu
and they want to make sure that she has
an alternate way home as well but before
crew n can get to the space station
Starliner is going to have to undock and
free up its parking spot that'll mean
software updates which you know we've
heard about I'm sure the undock and the
return to Earth will probably not be a
big deal but you know in the interests
of safety this is what they've decided
and look I think we should pause for a
second and realize what a unique
situation this is this this is the first
time the US has had two different active
crew spacecraft we have the luxury of
being able to choose between one or the
other if this had happened 5 years ago
when the other return option was Su I'm
not sure NASA would be quite as eager to
switch the crew off of a Starliner which
has some minor issues over to soyu
because soyu has its issues too indeed
in the last couple of years we had
soyu's ms23 losing its cooling circuit
and the crew had to remain on station
for a whole year as a a replacement
spacecraft or replacement so use was
sent up and don't be under the
impression that Starliner is some
ridiculously dangerous death trap
because as of right now it is still the
preferred return option in a contingency
scenario if there was a disaster on the
space station right now but and sunny
would fly back to Earth on the Starliner
because that is their best option but
yes uh when Starliner undocks to make
room for Dra crew 9 that means there's
going to be a few days where they don't
have a dedicated return spacecraft and
the current contingency plans there is
they basically strap themselves to the
cargo underneath the seats in uh an
emergency scenario now this highly
unlikely this is going to happen but
that's it yeah they're just going to lay
down there and uh their suits aren't
going to be useful so we'd better hope
that the the dragon doesn't have any
issues but presumably soon after that
crew 9 will get there with SpaceX suits
for them and everything will be fine you
know but and sunny will spend another 6
months on the space station and their
8-day flight to space will turn into 8
months in space and I'm pretty sure at
this point the this will be career
capping uh you trip for these guys now I
did wonder if they would send anything
back in Starliner some cargo like I I
think the spacecraft might actually need
a bit of mass some ballast but I'm sure
that they'll look around the station
look for some low profile things that
can be sent back as cargo maybe they'll
find something small you know something
that could fit inside Starline or
something which may be even inexorably
linked to Starliner like a Bo's
reputation but before Starliner is going
to leave there's going to be a suu crew
change over so we're going to have an
extra crew come up in the soyu and for
as a space nerd I noticed right away
that's going to be 12 people on the
International Space Station which is
more than they've had for a very long
time the last time they had that many
people people would be in the shuttle
era towards the end they had two soos
launched and they would La docked and
they would have a shuttle come up and uh
the most they actually had in that
scenario was 13 people seven people from
the shuttle and six from the two soos
the last time we had 13 people in the
space station one of the soyu's crew was
Tracy Caldwell Dyson who is currently on
the ISS as a member of a soyu's crew so
while 12 isn't a record for the
International Space Station it's a big
number also in the next week we have a
Polaris Dawn and uh a blue origin
suborbital flight with six people on
board there's a chance if these things
line up that we will have 22 humans in
space at the same time for you a very
short amount of time but people have
also been asking um you know is this the
first time that we've had crew go up in
one spacecraft and come down on another
and no it's not we've actually had this
quite a lot people going up on the
shuttle and then coming back and so
things like that in the early days of
the International Space Station the plan
was that the crews would be flowing up
uh on the space shuttle and they would
perform their crew rotation and the soyu
would be kept as a sort of emergency
spacecraft right so you would have a
soyu crew come up and then they would
switch over to the soyu that was there
and bring it back and so that's how they
would refresh the station like uh Escape
system and these short flights to change
the soyu over this is how rosos MOS got
started with the whole Space tourism
thing they would send people up on one
and they would come back this would be
just basically a a refresh of the
spacecraft and back in 2002 Lance Bass a
singer with nyn he was training to go on
one of these tourist flights and
ultimately that didn't work they didn't
get the funding it fell through so he
didn't fly instead an experienced crew
did the change over and we got like an
Issa astronaut getting a small time and
then early 20
23 the Colombia disaster happened and
that meant the Expedition 6 crew who had
flown to the ISS on the space shuttle
now had to return to Earth on the soyu
instead and that crew was Nikolai
badarin Ken Bowersox who you might have
seen the last few weeks because he is on
all those press conferences with NASA
about talking about Starliner I'm not
sure what his official title is but he's
you know in charge of a lot of this
stuff so he knows about uh you know the
potential problems with switching crew
between return vehicles and the third
crew member is Don pit and you might
know him he's made some great little
videos showing effects in zero gravity
he's done fantastic photography and he's
going back to space next month on a soyu
what are the odds of that huh but it
gets better because you see that so that
they had to use as a return vehicle that
was the first of the so Ed TMA series
that's basically they'd extended the
size of the couches a little they'd made
a few other modifications so it was
technically a test flight of a new
version of a Space Capsule and on return
they actually had some issues with the
spacecraft and it performed a ballistic
re-entry so yes they had problems with
their re-entry as well and that is a
story I will tell in a different video
I'm Scott Manley fly safe
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