This is probably going to be so boring, but I won’t be able to look away.
This is probably going to be so boring, but I won’t be able to look away.
This is how I feel. This is a wonderful moment where a switch to Dragon is easy and safe. Starliner is probably fine, but Dragon is clearly safer right now. Who cares about ISS scheduling changes and modified Starliner certification requirements?
I just checked prediction markets and they seem to think Starliner has a 20-30% chance. I think that’s way too high.
I wonder how predictable the thrust reduction is. I would have thought they could account for this in software, but maybe there’s too much uncertainty. Or perhaps ground tests showed the seal can fail in dangerous ways.
If NASA defers to its fallback plan, flying on Dragon, it may spell the end of the Starliner program. During the development and testing of Starliner, the company has already lost $1.6 billion. Reflying a crew test flight mission, which likely would be necessary should Starliner return autonomously, would cost much more.
Through this lens, I get why they’re taking their time with the decision.
I was firmly in the “nothing is actually wrong and the media coverage is silly” camp, so this report is pretty shocking.
If there are real engineering reasons (as opposed to anxious bureaucrat ones) that Dragon needs to rescue them, this seems like one of the bigger crises in the modern era?
Will wait for more details, but clearly I was wrong about media coverage!
What a weird situation. I suppose it’s nice those workarounds exist, even if they’re not ideal.
Interesting! I assume it involves a smart plug and an automation script that monitors battery level?
Wow, Graphene really doesn’t have charging limits?
I assume this is the discussion you referred to, and I think it broke my trust in the project.
Edit: As far as I can tell, many of the frustrating parts of that thread are from random posters and not devs. I’m still annoyed that such a basic feature is considered controversial.
:(
Today felt like the one.
I assumed optics would force them to replace the part, even if there wasn’t an engineering reason to do so. Glad I was wrong!
A small RCS leak feels like something that can be compensated for in software.
From the Ars Technica article on the subject:
The space agency did not describe what options are on the table, but sources said they range from flying the spacecraft “as is” with a thorough understanding of the leak and confidence it won’t become more significant in flight, to removing the capsule from its Atlas V rocket and taking it back to a hangar for repairs.
Theoretically, the former option could permit a launch attempt as soon as next week. The latter alternative could delay the launch until at least late summer.
Late summer! Ouch. Sounds like that’s based on ISS parking spot availability.
Darn. I hope it’s a quick fix and we don’t have to deal with weeks of doomerism.
I was really confused about what type of cross section I was looking at, but the second response gave a helpful diagram.
What scanners do people recommend?
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It’s worth pointing out that they’re now a publicly traded company.
Wasn’t expecting such beautiful shots at midnight in the desert!