Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft failed to take off this time either. A technical problem stopped the countdown 3 minutes and 50 seconds after launch. It is not clear what the problem was: the on-board computers noticed something was wrong and automatically stopped the launch procedures.
The two NASA test pilots were already ready on board on the Cape Canaveral ramp in Florida when the stop came. It is the second postponement for Boeing after the one at the beginning of May. If the defect can be repaired quickly, a new launch will be attempted on Sunday. Two further windows are scheduled for June 5th and 6th, otherwise we will have to wait another ten days.
The US aeronautical company thus finds itself, already four years late, unable to retrace the same route as SpaceX, the company of entrepreneur Elon Musk, which has been transporting astronauts to the Space Station and back since 2020.
Ten years ago, NASA decided to rely on private individuals to free itself from dependence on Russia for the launch of its crews. From the retirement of the Space Shuttles in 2011 and until the arrival of SpaceX, the only carrier capable of reaching the Station was the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which sold tickets for US astronauts’ flights at a high price.
For the inaugural launch of Starliner, NASA has decided to rely on two of its most experienced astronauts, 61-year-old Butch Wilmore and 58-year-old Suni Williams. Both have flown in the past on both the Shuttle and the Soyuz. Even the rocket that was supposed to take Starliner into orbit is built by a private company: Ula, United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing itself.
The two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams before boarding the spacecraft
When, in 2014, NASA signed a 4.2 billion dollar contract with Boeing and 2.6 billion with SpaceX to develop new space launchers, no one would have bet that Elon Musk’s company would have beaten the time so clear the rival.
Boeing’s path to the stars has been slower than expected (space delays run parallel to doubts about the safety of the US company’s planes). Even the inaugural launch of Starliner, scheduled three weeks ago, had already been postponed. A helium leak in the engine and a defective valve forced the astronauts to disembark when they were already wearing their seatbelts.
In 2019, during a test launch without astronauts, Starliner went off course and failed to reach the Space Station. Two years later another valve problem forced Boeing to cancel the launch. A defect that took longer than expected to resolve concerned the parachute responsible for braking the capsule upon re-entry.
Today Starliner should have reached the Space Station after a full day of travel. The Boeing spacecraft was entrusted with a spare part essential for life on board the Station. The device that purifies astronauts’ urine and transforms it into drinking water has in fact broken. Currently the liquid is stored in tanks, but their capacity is limited and the arrival of Starliner would have been greeted with relief by the inhabitants of the Station.
When – estimated in 2030 – the Space Station is retired and brought back to Earth, SpaceX and possibly Boeing will be able to transport astronauts and tourists to new orbital bases whose construction NASA is encouraging. Entrusting it, as is now common practice, always to private companies.
2024-06-01 21:29:49
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