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I’d be less worried about the Boeing factor here. NASA peer reviews all designs and checks the final system for anything manned or high value. It’s possible th

by api 2y ago

I’d be less worried about the Boeing factor here. NASA peer reviews all designs and checks the final system for anything manned or high value. It’s possible that Boeing being incompetent and NASA being tied up with them is a cause for delays. Not sure but it seems plausible. I wonder why they wouldn’t use Falcon Heavy though. Starship is still in development and not ready for any of this but FH is flight proven and cheaper.

boricj 2y ago
> NASA peer reviews all designs and checks the final system for anything manned or high value. That didn't prevent the first orbital flight test of the Starliner capsule from being a complete mess that almost resulted in the loss of the vehicle. > I wonder why they wouldn’t use Falcon Heavy though. I don't think Falcon Heavy is human-rated.
icegreentea2 2y ago
They aren't using Falcon Heavy because FH isn't human rated. In any case, Starliner could get by on a Falcon 9 (in terms of required performance), but it would be a big chunk of $$$. The Starliner is a pretty wide capsule, which is why they need that skirt on the Atlas V. The skirt controls the aerodynamic transition from the fatter Starliner to the skinnier Atlas underneath. The F9 is a different diameter from the Atlas, but still narrower than the Starliner, so they'd probably need a different skirt design. The obvious other replacement vehicle is Vulcan, which is actually fatter than the Starliner. I have no idea what integration issues that'd entail. As for why Boeing went for Atlas? Well... SpaceX is their literal competitor. Assured access also implies being willing to take a hit on cost efficiency to ensure diversity of both crew capsule as well as launch vehicle.
- panick21_ 2y ago
  Vulcan is unlikely yo be ever human rated. So it will not be the replacement. Its very likely Starliner will simply be killed after 6 missions.
philipwhiuk 2y ago
I'm not sure why you introduced Falcon Heavy or Starship.
- api 2y ago
  They are modern reusable rockets as opposed to 50s-70s disposable ones?
_joel 2y ago
They use Falcon 9 for crewed launches, not Falcon Heavy. Using FH to put starliner capsule in orbit would be massively inefficient as you don't need that much mass to orbit capability. Plus it's not rated for human flight, so there's that. Starliner can (and might) fly on an F9.

by api 2y ago

boricj 2y ago

> NASA peer reviews all designs and checks the final system for anything manned or high value. That didn't prevent the first orbital flight test of the Starliner capsule from being a complete mess that almost resulted in the loss of the vehicle. > I wonder why they wouldn’t use Falcon Heavy though. I don't think Falcon Heavy is human-rated.

icegreentea2 2y ago

They aren't using Falcon Heavy because FH isn't human rated. In any case, Starliner could get by on a Falcon 9 (in terms of required performance), but it would be a big chunk of $$$. The Starliner is a pretty wide capsule, which is why they need that skirt on the Atlas V. The skirt controls the aerodynamic transition from the fatter Starliner to the skinnier Atlas underneath. The F9 is a different diameter from the Atlas, but still narrower than the Starliner, so they'd probably need a different skirt design. The obvious other replacement vehicle is Vulcan, which is actually fatter than the Starliner. I have no idea what integration issues that'd entail. As for why Boeing went for Atlas? Well... SpaceX is their literal competitor. Assured access also implies being willing to take a hit on cost efficiency to ensure diversity of both crew capsule as well as launch vehicle.

panick21_ 2y ago
Vulcan is unlikely yo be ever human rated. So it will not be the replacement. Its very likely Starliner will simply be killed after 6 missions.

philipwhiuk 2y ago

I'm not sure why you introduced Falcon Heavy or Starship.

api 2y ago
They are modern reusable rockets as opposed to 50s-70s disposable ones?

_joel 2y ago

They use Falcon 9 for crewed launches, not Falcon Heavy. Using FH to put starliner capsule in orbit would be massively inefficient as you don't need that much mass to orbit capability. Plus it's not rated for human flight, so there's that. Starliner can (and might) fly on an F9.