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I'm not certain I counted right, but I believe it was eight failed thrusters in its first uncrewed test in 2020, and later four failed thrusters in the second o
by perihelions 2y ago
I'm not certain I counted right, but I believe it was eight failed thrusters in its first uncrewed test in 2020, and later four failed thrusters in the second one, in 2022. (Combining the failure count of the larger orbital maneuvering thrusters with that of the smaller reaction-control systems).
- "The NASA source said eight or more thrusters on the service module failed at one point and that one thruster never fired at all."
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/nasa-and-boeing-are-closely-looking-at-starliners-thruster-performance/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/nasa-and-boeing-are-...
- " Two of the 20 main thrusters on the spacecraft's service module, used for orbital maneuvering, failed shortly after Starliner separated from its Atlas V rocket. They were not recovered during the flight. Two smaller reaction control system thrusters also failed during the approach to the space station, but they were recovered."
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/05/nasas-verdict-on-starliner-a-great-vehicle-for-crew-transportation/ https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/05/nasas-verdict-on-sta...
- amelius 2y agoHurray for the software that managed to work even with the failed thrusters.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jauntywundrkind 2y agoAn astronaut took over manual control after automatic docking system started popping failures.
- amelius 2y agoIn reality a Python programmer at the mission control center modified the scripts and told the astronaut what buttons to press.
- verzali 2y agoSounds like they think it's actually a software problem rather than a hardware fault.
- hulitu 2y agoWill be fixed in the next release. /s
- appplication 2y agoV0.0.2 Patch Notes: fixed a bug that occasionally caused it to explode
- bumby 2y agoTheir first demo flight was plagued with thruster "valve mapping errors" which could have been catastrophic (eg, it could have caused it to collide with the ISS). >"Boeing described the new software problem as “a valve mapping software issue, which was diagnosed and fixed in flight.” According to the company, “That error in the software would have resulted in an incorrect thruster separation and disposal burn. What would have resulted from that is unclear.”"[1] My understanding was that was found by happenstance only after they were reviewing the code after an unrelated comms error. Makes you wonder how many untested latent bugs are in the software. [1] https://spacenews.com/nasa-safety-panel-calls-for-reviews-after-second-starliner-software-problem/ https://spacenews.com/nasa-safety-panel-calls-for-reviews-af...