The mission kicked off Thursday night with a launch in Florida and the Starliner – which is designed to transport astronauts but flies without people for this test – is docked with the ISS on Friday night at 20:28 ET. The dock came about an hour later than expected as ground crews worked on several issues, including a software problem that distorted graphics, something like an incorrect GPS map. There were also problems with the sensors and some docking components that were not moving properly at first.
The capsule has a docking ring that pops out as it approaches its port and is used to attach to the ISS. During the first docking attempt, some components did not move to the correct configuration. The ground crews had to try the ascent process a second time to get everything in the right place. There was also a small problem with Starliner’s cooling circuits, which are part of the system that regulates the spacecraft’s temperature.
All of these issues had to be analyzed or rectified in time for Starliner to move forward, and docking eventually passed without a major problem.
“It was really humiliating to watch the car stand there for a while until it was time to get in,” Mark Napie, Boeing Starliner’s program manager, told reporters Friday night.
Above the mission, however, there are several other problems with the onboard engines of the spacecraft, which maneuver and orient this vehicle while sailing in space. Two of these engines shut down prematurely shortly after the spacecraft reached orbit. Several other pushers had problems later.
Despite the setbacks, the spacecraft performed “beautifully,” according to Steve Stitch, manager of NASA’s Star Creer-based Commercial Crew program and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon program.
“Of course, this is a test flight, and like those who’ve probably watched all day, you’ve seen that we’re learning along the way and it’s very exciting,” Stitch told a news conference Friday night.
NASA and Boeing officials said the problems with the propulsion device were not a major concern because Starliner had “many” built-in backups, Stitch said. There are 48 such pushers in the vehicle and the capsule on-board computers may choose to use one pusher over another if it detects something slightly off.
Although Boeing wants to know why the pushers are not working as planned, Napi says this may not be the case.
“We may never know the real reason for this,” he said.
Engineers narrowed the problems with the thruster to “six or seven” possible causes, three of which seemed most likely. Pointing to the exact problem may require engineers to see the pushers in person, something that can’t happen because the pushers are attached to the service module – a part that will be discarded and left to burn in the atmosphere before Starliner controls it. return to Earth.
This is expected to happen in the next few days. Starliner will disembark from the ISS, maneuver on his way home, and then use his pushers to return to the thick of the earth before parachuting to land in the New Mexico desert.
If all goes well, it will be a huge victory for Boeing, which comes after years of delays and interruptions in development with Starliner.
The first attempt by the spacecraft to complete an orbital test mission in 2019 had to be returned from space prematurely without completing ISS docking due to software problems. A second attempt to launch a Starliner to the ISS in August last year was suspended after pre-flight inspections revealed problems with jammed key valves.
If this mission is completed safely, Boeing’s Starliner could launch astronauts by the end of 2022.
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