Boeing flubbed the first mission of the CST-100. Seemingly a routine mission for SpaceX after completing over 20 deliveries to the International Space Station, Boeing showed how not to do it. During the December 2019 Demo flight for the Boeing Starliner CST-100, the Starliner did not reach its planned orbit. Nor did the Starliner dock to the International Space Station as planned. Boeing was able to complete a number of mission objectives during the flight to comply with the milestones related to NASA’s Commercial Crew.
On the ULA Atlas V rocket at 6:36 a.m. Friday, Dec. 20, the Boeing Starliner launched from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Boeing has a long rich history in both aviation and spaceflight. This mission, already three years behind in schedule, should have been a slam dunk.
After launching to the incorrect orbit, Boeing was able to successfully recover the Starliner. NASA shared that Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft did successfully complete the first land touchdown of a human-rated capsule at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 7:58 a.m. EST (5:58 a.m. MST) on December 22, 2019. The landing followed a deorbit burn for the botched flight, separation of the spacecraft’s service module, and successful deployment of its three main parachutes and six airbags. Boeing’s approach to the Starliner is unique as the prior US-made capsules, including the SpaceX Dragon, are water recoveries.
Starliner settling softly to the ground on Airbags wasn’t enough.
The NASA and Boeing investigation into the spaceflight was disclosed in Early March 2020. The recommendations included a list of corrections that needed to be addressed prior to the Starliner launching again. The investigation documented 61 “corrective actions” for the company’s Starliner spacecraft. This type of test did do what it was supposed to do. Find issues before people are exposed to potentially dangerous situations. This human risk reduction is a hallmark of the NASA Commercial Crew Program which was put in place to alternatives to the Space Shuttle and Soyuz spacecraft. NASA associate administrator Doug Loverro shared with reporters on a conference call that he expected it months for Boeing to work through the list to be ready for another test flight.
According to NASA’s BLOG, Boeing has made the decision to redo the DEMO-1 flight. The CST-100 Starliner, will fly a second test flight without a crew as a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA and Boeing have not disclosed a target date for the redo flight, however, according to the NASA blog, the proposal has been accepted by NASA. NASA also shared that a close side-by-side working relationship with Boeing for the resumption of flight tests to the International Space Station on the company’s CST-100 Starliner system is also in progress. In this respect, Boeing has stepped up and taken ownership of the issue. Boeing also made a statement regarding the decision to refly the mission without a crew:
The Boeing Company is honored to be a provider for the Commercial Crew mission. We are committed to the safety of the men and women who design, build and ultimately will fly on the Starliner just as we have on every crewed mission to space. We have chosen to refly our Orbital Flight Test to demonstrate the quality of the Starliner system. Flying another uncrewed flight will allow us to complete all flight test objectives and evaluate the performance of the second Starliner vehicle at no cost to the taxpayer. We will then proceed to the tremendous responsibility and privilege of flying astronauts to the International Space Station.
Statement on Boeing’s website starlinerupdates.com
According to the terms of the US Commercial Crew Program, Boeing is under a fixed price contract. Any additional flights will be out of Boeing’s pocket, not NASA. This test flight will likely cost upwards of $400 Million U.S. Dollars. On February 6th, Boeing released a statement on Independent Review Team Recommendations for the Starliner Orbital Flight Test Anomalies. The statement highlighted a few key items:
- The Mission Elapsed Timer anomaly root cause was identified and provided a number of recommendations and corrective actions are being implemented.
- A valve mapping software issue was not identified prior to launch. During the flight, the issue was diagnosed and fixed in flight. The software error would have resulted in an incorrect thruster separation and disposal burn which could have had an additional impact on the mission. Boeing did not speculate what would have resulted had the error not been corrected.
- Boeing is working on making the Starliner communications system more robust on future missions.
Boeing and SpaceX delays put ISS operations at Risk
The next launch to the Space Station is planned for April 9th and is only a few days away. Only one NASA astronaut(Chris Cassidy) will be launched to the Space Station along with two Russian Cosmonauts. Since delays to the US Commercial Crew Program might leave Astronaut Chris Cassidy as the only crew member on the USOS for an extended time, Anatoli Ivanishin has been training on US EMU spacesuits. Cassidy has completed multiple EVAs in the past, including an unscheduled EVA. In the unlikely event that an unscheduled EVA is required before additional USOS crew members arrive at the station, then Ivanishin can support Cassidy. Should Ivanishin participate in EVA in the EMU he would be the first Russian cosmonaut to use an EMU since 2007 where Yuri Malenchenko performed the EVA with NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson. Vagner has been to training on the operation of the USOS Robotic Arm (Canadarm 2) should there be a need to robotically support any EVA carried out by Cassidy and Ivanishin.
The three astronauts are scheduled to be in space until October 2020 by which time a SpaceX Crew Dragon should be able to rotate a new crew onto the ISS. Boeing will likely still be qualifying their spacecraft and is unlikely to fly a crewwed mission in 2020.
During expedition 63, NASA and SpaceX hope to accomplish the first humans launched to the ISS from American soil since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission is a flight test with a crew. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will take the Crew Dragon for a “Test drive” on the Demo-2 mission. NASA hopes to certify all of the systems operational for future crewed missions to the International Space Station.
Also, there is a possibility that the Boeing CST-100 will also launch to the ISS with a crew before the return of Cassidy, Ivanishin, and Vagner. However, this possibility is shrinking with the announcement that Boeing will fly a redo mission. The Boeing Demo-1 mission will refly in an attempt to meet all the corrective actions identified by NASA and complete all milestone objectives.
If Boeing and SpaceX do not successfully qualify either the CST-100 or Crew Dragon, then the staff on the space station could be reduced to the point where almost no science could be conducted on the USOS portion of the ISS.
According to the November 2019 Office of Inspector General report on NASA’S MANAGEMENT OF CREW TRANSPORTATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, NASA will likely experience a reduction in the number of USOS crew aboard the ISS from three to one beginning in spring 2020. This reduction in the crew is caused by the schedule delays in the development of Boeing CST-100 and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Coupled with a reduction in the frequency of Soyuz flights there is less crew that can fly to the International Space Station. NASA has successfully ensured access to the ISS by purchasing unused Soyuz seats when four Soyuz vehicles flew per year. Only two Soyuz vehicles are planned for 2020. Astronauts extending their on-Station assignments longer than the standard 6 months will expose astronauts to more significant space-flight-related health concerns.
About Boeing CST-100
The Boeing Starliner or CST-100 – Crew Space Transportation-100 is a spacecraft designed and manufactured by Boeing as its participation in NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program to transport people to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA awarded contracts under the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) to Boeing for the CST-100 Starliner (up to $4.2B). The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is the first American orbital space capsule to land on American soil rather than in an ocean. The Starliner has a weldless structure and is designed to be reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time. The CST-100 incorporates technology from Boeing Airplanes such as wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces. Boeing plans to utilize the U.S. Air Force’s Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, to launch an Atlas V rocket.
- DIAMETER 4.56 m/14.96ft
- HEIGHT 5.03 m/16.50ft
- CAPSULE VOLUME 11m3/ 388.46ft3
- TRUNK VOLUME ?m3/ ?ft3
- LAUNCH MASS 13,000 kg
- LAUNCH PAYLOAD MASS TBDkg/TBDlbs
- RETURN PAYLOAD MASS TBDkg/TBDlbs
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft being transported from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to a facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019 in preparation for launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket ahead of Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station. Credit NASA
About The Author
Bill D’Zio
Co-Founder at WestEastSpace.com
Bill founded WestEastSpace.com after returning to China in 2019 to be supportive of his wife’s career. Moving to China meant leaving the US rocket/launch industry behind, as the USA and China don’t see eye to eye on cooperation in space. Bill has an engineering degree and is an experienced leader of international cross-functional teams with experience in evaluating, optimizing and awarding sub-contracts for complex systems. Bill has worked with ASME Components, Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) for use in launch vehicles, satellites, aerospace nuclear, and industrial applications.
Bill provides consulting services for engineering, supply chain, and project management.
