From Starliner to Dreamliner, here’s another flop for Boeing
New setback for Boeing: the launch of the Starliner spacecraft with crew on board has been postponed. Not only that: the Federal Aviation Administration has opened a new investigation into the American manufacturer regarding possible falsified documents on the checks of the 787 Dreamliner. Facts and insights
There is no peace for Boeing as it continues to suffer setbacks.
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of the aviation giant's Starliner spacecraft won't happen until Friday. This is what NASA announced after the launch scheduled for May 6 was interrupted due to an anomaly in the Atlas V rocket that will carry the new capsule into orbit.
The debut of the crewed Starliner comes at a particularly critical time for Boeing. Its aviation business is grappling with fallout from the 737 Max 9 door blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, as well as previous fatal crashes of two 737 Max jets, Reuters reports.
Also on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the regulator of US airlines, opened a new investigation (the second) into the aircraft manufacturer after the company revealed to employees that it may not have completed required inspections on some 787 Dreamliner aircraft. As Axios points out, the new investigation adds to several other federal probes into Boeing after the Alaska Airlines flight crash earlier this year reignited safety concerns.
All the details.
FIRST CREWED STARLINER FLIGHT POSTPONED
The American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were due to take off in the evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard the Starliner capsule, pushed into orbit by an Atlas V rocket from the United Launch Alliance (Ula) group. However, the Ula group detected an anomaly on a valve on the Atlas V rocket and aborted the launch.
One commentator on NASA's livestream said that discovering such problems on the ground represents a "victory" because "the last thing you want to do is deal with it in space."
So Boeing's first crewed trip to the ISS postponed. It is also the first Starliner launch since an uncrewed test flight of the vehicle suffered an anomaly in May 2022 , when a thruster used for orbital maneuvers unexpectedly failed. During the inaugural uncrewed test of the Starliner in 2019, the spacecraft failed to dock with the ISS, leading to further testing and troubleshooting.
So the next mission will be the last milestone before the vehicle is cleared for regular flights to the ISS, SpaceNews points out. If Boeing's Crew Flight Test goes well, the Starliner will be able to alternate with SpaceX's Crew Dragon – which has already carried out several missions – for the transport of astronauts to the ISS as an alternative to the Russian Soyuz.
EYE FOCUSED ON BOEING
So the company is eager to get its Starliner space venture off the ground to show signs of success and redeem a program years behind schedule with more than $1.5 billion in cost overruns.
Furthermore, the success of this mission would also be more than positive for Boeing, which is in turmoil over the safety problems of its planes. The aerospace giant is facing intense public scrutiny of all its activities after the crisis triggered by the blowing of a plane's door cap in mid-air in January.
THE FAA INVESTIGATION INTO THE 787 DREAMLINER
Finally, just earlier this week, the FAA said in a statement that the agency opened the investigation after a Boeing employee informed it last month that it may not have completed required inspections of electrical connection protections and grounding where the wings join the fuselage on some 787s.
“As the investigation continues, the FAA will take all necessary actions – as always – to ensure the safety of the flying public,” concluded the US federal agency that deals with aviation safety and enforcement.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/da-starliner-a-dreamliner-ecco-un-altro-flop-per-boeing/ on Wed, 08 May 2024 07:36:04 +0000.