We now know who is going to be Boeing’s ‘sacrificial lamb’…
Boeing Starliner program manager Mark Nappi told the New York Times earlier this week that it’s no surprise that the company’s Starliner crewed flight test is taking longer than expected — so far, almost ten times longer than expected. NASA astronauts Butch Williams and Suni Wilmore are on Day 77 of their eight-day stay aboard the International Space Station.
Nappi says he regrets not doing a better job of managing expectations.
“I think we all knew that it was going to go longer than that,” Nappi told the NYT. “We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about how much longer, but I think it’s my regret that we didn’t just say ‘We’re going to stay up there until we get everything done that we want to go do.'”
Full article, HERE.
And they’re not saying because they have NO idea… They’re just trying to salvage their program at this point. I hope they are at least ‘thinking’ about the astronauts as they do the evaluations.
However, the impact on the ISS ‘program plan’ is putting a lot of the upcoming operations in jeopardy. Not in the least due to the lack of food (extra bodies for now 80+ days), plus blocking a parking spot, and the potential for Crew Dragon to have to go ‘light’ with only 2 astronauts vice the 4 that are planned, along with the experiments they had scheduled.
And NASA is apparently ‘not’ making the hard decision to kick Boeing to the curb so that the program plan gets back on track. The ISS only has about five more years before it gets deorbited…
Sigh… How the mighty have fallen…
“So how much longer?”
‘Two weeks!’
(and then in two weeks): “So how much longer?”
‘TWO WEEKS!’
And for those of you who thought of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in “Total Recal”: You’re welcome. 🙂
Perhaps NASA could up (down?) load a copy of “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” for Butch and Suni to read during their enforced staycation.
And, yes, thank you, I did get a chuckle from your comment.
Okay, back to seriousness: At some point, NASA, Boeing, and the government are all going to have to put away their pride and ask Space-X to get the job done and rescue those astronauts.
I strongly suspect Musk has already tasked a large team to work out all the plans and contingencies for that mission. It’s just the way he is, and thank God for that.
Fine in theory, but I understand there are compatibility issues. The suits used by the Starliner astronauts have different connectors to those used on the Dragon, and I don’t know what would be involved in getting Dragon-compatible suits fitted for the Starliner astronauts. And that ignores the fact that this present iteration of Starliner cannot remote undock!
Can’t they just fly up appropriate suits? I know not having the astronauts on Earth might result in a less-than-ideal fit, but it seems like they should be able to put together something good enough and send them up to change into. I ought to ping my cousin – she was involved in spacesuit design before she got married and switched careers.
I’m SpaceX suits are “off the rack” and will fit Butch and Suni. I wouldn’t be surprised to know that SpaceX has their sizes and has them packaged and ready to put on the Dragon that goes to get them.
I think the question is whether to configure the capsule for 6, which is possible, or bump 2 of the scheduled crew.
SpaceX suits are custom fit. But SpaceX already has said they can make the suits.
And I wouldn’t put it past SpaceX to be able to make adaptors either.
Neat thing about the SpaceX suits is they are inexpensive compared to everyone elses. Coming in at around $200K or so.
NASA to decide Saturday whether astronauts will ride Boeing’s Starliner home — or use SpaceX’s Dragon instead
https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/22/nasa-to-decide-saturday-whether-astronauts-will-ride-boeings-starliner-home-or-use-spacexs-dragon-instead/
NASA astronauts Butch Williams and Suni Wilmore announce the birth of their daughter Solar today. It is the second child for the couple still trapped on the ISS after a slight miscue in NASA Boeing saga that has lasted almost 4 years.
An agency spokesman released a statement congratulating the couple and hoped to welcome the entire family home in two more weeks.
🙂 🙂
Gerry” “NASA astronauts Butch Williams and Suni Wilmore announce the birth of their daughter”
Stop it! I cannot afford to spit-take good tequila on my laptop.
“Mark dies if you don’t”.
Yeah, well, in the end it all comes down to mismanagement and the taxpayers paying out the nose for yet another shoddy product by legacy aerospace.
Thing is, it seems everyone knew this was going to happen with Stayliner. Yet they launched anyways. Jerks.
Given the experienced outcome, do w really want Boeing to decide anything, or Space X?
Gah! Boeing screwed up and we all know it.
Bless Elon. I think he does have a team working on the contingencies.
Boeing is working on explaining things to the stockholders.
All- Good points, and RHT, THAT is a classic… What pisses me off is NASA aborgating requirements for ‘standardization’ of fittings. How @#%$% hard is that to put in a damned RFQ? Hint- NONE!!!
Remember the movie Marooned?
What happens when the food runs out?
I think they knew from the beginning of the problem the capsule will have to be jettisoned and the astronauts a new way home. At that time, they didn’t have clue of how they would present the problem, or knew a solution. Hopefully the solution is not clouded with political posturing and stupidity.
Some heads will have to be rolled, and I have a feeling it will be those that are most undeserving.
The new CEO at Boeing had better be looking at a sacrificial flock, not a single lamb. I once was asked by my manager (who was also a good friend) what to do about a troublesome department he had inherited in a reorganization. I immediately replied “fire 40% of them at random then pull the rest into a conference room and ask ‘do you get it yet?'” He didn’t take my suggestion and regretted it later.
Put one tethered astronaut outside the unwanted appendage. Duct tape all body appendages, like a mummy, allowing for articulation, tape a helmet, oxygen tube and oxygen tank on another astronaut – to go inside the troubled attachment and detach it. Then, have the mummy open the hatch, have the other astronaut tether the mummy and reel in the mummy, like a fish into the air lock, as quickly as possible.
I can see the commercials in my mind’s eye.
Duct tape fixes everything.
All- You DO have some interesting points…
The country needs the potential Boeing offers, and once had. Boeing needs new management. What do we have in the pipeline, or already existing, that can replace Boeing? Maybe force Boeing to divest their acquisitions (competitors) and let the marketplace sort it out?