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Interesting that this did not make HN at all before the launch. There are way more cheerleaders for SpaceX than Boeing. But IMO it's still very cool, I could
by rootusrootus 2y ago
Interesting that this did not make HN at all before the launch. There are way more cheerleaders for SpaceX than Boeing. But IMO it's still very cool, I could watch rocket launches all day.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- bryanlarsen 2y agoIt made it before at least one of its other launch attempts, IIRC.
- ceejayoz 2y agoUncrewed, yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Orbital_Flight_Test_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Orbital_Flight_Test_2
- dmix 2y agoEveryone was excited for the one last time and I was around for that, I didn't even realize it was happening today. I just assumed it'd be delayed for another long period again.
- malfist 2y agoI had the same issue. I thought it was postponed for a longer period given the messaging from the last scrub. I only knew it was launching 6 minutes prior because my partner alerted me about it because it was top stream on twitch.
- rootusrootus 2y ago> I didn't even realize it was happening today. I did not, either. I tend to get most of my tech-related news via HN. Fortunately this morning I decided to swing past Ars to see if anything interesting was happening, and they had a high profile post about the launch. I made it to the livestream with less than five minutes to spare.
- xnx 2y ago4 days ago. 48 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40547338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40547338 Also 30 days ago.
- SideburnsOfDoom 2y agoPrevious launch attempts did. But there are only so many successive "launch was scrubbed" stories that are interesting.
- madaxe_again 2y ago[flagged]
- api 2y agoThis rocket is not reusable so it’s kind of an antique.
- hydrogen7800 2y agoThe rocket is not, but the crew module is intended to fly 10 times, and is compatible with several rockets including falcon 9.
- dotnet00 2y agoIt's 'compatible' in that they can do the work to integrate it with another rocket if needed, which isn't really saying much because most payloads are like that. It isn't compatible with Falcon 9 in its current state, and IIRC because it's wider than F9, actually flying Starliner on F9 would require a lot more structural work too (devising an appropriate aerodynamic adapter and ensuring structural loads are acceptable). Plus, NASA crew rates the full stack rather than treating the rocket and capsule separately, so integrating Starliner on another rocket would require the crew rating process to be repeated (granted, it'd be a bit easier since F9+Dragon is already crew rated).
- cma 2y agoThe falcon with dragon is only partially reusable too (second stage discarded). The space shuttle reused more but is more of an antique so that's not a great determiner of antiqueness.
- BurningFrog 2y agoTo be fair, SpaceX is far more cheerworthy. Does the Starliner have any feature that current SpaceX rockets don't have?
- MPSimmons 2y agoNot really. The biggest apparent difference in the user experience is how the vehicle is commanded. Here's a pic of the Starliner control panel: https://x.com/TrevorMahlmann/status/1207437431374565376/photo/1 https://x.com/TrevorMahlmann/status/1207437431374565376/phot... And Crew Dragon's control panel: https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/30/21275753/nasa-spacex-astronauts-fly-crew-dragon-touchscreen-controls https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/30/21275753/nasa-spacex-astr...
- greenavocado 2y agoI shudder thinking about what would happen if a touch action on the touchscreen would get stuck
- bumby 2y agoThere was a decent amount of concern within NASA on the touchscreen design, but the contract type tended to force those discussions to the sideline. In the end, NASA wanted a ride and not to drive the design. Edit: for those wondering, this is not hearsay or speculation; it is from direct experience (albeit 5+ years ago)
- Maxatar 2y agoThe Dragon Crew has physical backup controls. The touchscreen allows for a more interactive UI that you can try out here: https://iss-sim.spacex.com/ https://iss-sim.spacex.com/ But the controls themselves have physical buttons in addition to the touch screen. Also all systems have triple redundancy.
- starik36 2y agoIt does. It can (and will) land on land instead of water.
- luuurker 2y agoHow many times was this launch delayed due to problems? I get excited, but can't stay excited for months.
- HWR_14 2y agoIt was delayed three times in the month leading up to launch, and there was an attempt just over a year ago that was scratched because they discovered they accidentally used a flammable material. So, four total times. But "staying excited for months" is misleading.
- starik36 2y agoTrue, but you have to add previous attempts going back several years. Wasn't Atlas+Starliner actually rolled out to the pad last time only to be scrubbed and brought back for another 6 month delay?
- dylan604 2y agoYes, this GP's comment is very misleading in that it only listed the recent scrubs. I almost felt sorry for the astronauts.
- HWR_14 2y agoI listed all the ones I could find for the manned mission. Did my list miss some?
- starik36 2y agoYou are missing ones where it was scheduled, but didn't even make it to the stand because some issue was found. I can't recall when exactly, but at some point it was discovered that the tape used to wrap wires was flammable. So it was postponed, once again.
- 2y ago
- dotnet00 2y agoIt's been delayed so many times after getting very close to launch that it makes sense that everyone just lost interest. On top of that Boeing's launch coverage is nowhere near as fancy as SpaceX (or new space in general, RocketLab and Blue Origin also tend to have pretty decent coverage, although neither of them are doing crewed orbital spaceflight yet). No views of the non-flight-control employees enjoying seeing their work fly, very little live telemetry, low resolution for when they do have live video, mostly CGI views once down to the second stage, no live views from the capsule in space either. Finally, on top of that, Starliner is kind of just a dead end in its current state. Boeing only built the two it needs for this one contract, and it only flies on Atlas V, which are fully sold out now. So it can only do the 6 contracted ISS missions and then it's done until someone is willing to pay to have Starliner+Vulcan Centaur crew rated.
- robertlagrant 2y ago> Boeing only built the two it needs for this one contract, and it only flies on Atlas V, which are fully sold out now. So it can only do the 6 contracted ISS missions and then it's done until someone is willing to pay to have Starliner+Vulcan Centaur crew rated. This is what I like about SpaceX. Of course they have government contracts, but it's always building towards something bigger.
- dylan604 2y agoI was really unimpressed with Boeing's feed and its lack of telemetry. No indications of altitude, speed, distance down range, etc. Even their timeline jumped rather than progressed. It was worse than some of those old Windows progress bars of old.
- FireBeyond 2y agoThere was an article when the launch was scrubbed two days ago, but it didn't make much traction, and the few comments on it were (as objectively as possible) mostly "smirking SpaceX fans".
- dylan604 2y agoObjectively dissing on Boeing has become it's own pastime regardless of being a fan of anything else
- protastus 2y agoThere is no schadenfreude for the people in my circle. The same can be said for Intel. We all see it as a huge national security issue that these companies are fumbling, given how foundational they are for U.S. security, self-reliance and tech leadership.
- dylan604 2y agoThere's no pleasure in Boeing's failure on my part either. It is such a learning moment on many levels that is absolutely being ignored. No meaningful changes are going to come from looking at Boeing. Instead, my cynicism would expect people to "learn" from it in seeing where Boeing went wrong with how they went for short term gains not that focusing on short term gains as the problem