But when Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was launched in June of 2024 with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard, it was expected to be an eight-day Crew Flight Test. This would mark the final development phase of the spacecraft before it could be launched towards its commercial flights. But due to a series of propulsion failures as well as some helium leaks, it became a nightmare of nine months for NASA, where it had to return to earth with its payload but not with them.
The next mission is Starliner-1 and it is going to be uncrewed. The Starliner spacecraft is going to orbit with the cargo to the International Space Station. The number of definitized ordered missions has been reduced to four missions and therefore has optional two missions. This has been determined jointly between NASA and Boeing. The cost of the contract is going to be reduced by $768 million and the total cost of the contract is $3.732 billion. “allows NASA and Boeing to focus on safely certifying the system in 2026.” according to Steve Stich, the Commercial Crew Program Manager at NASA.
One thing that is clear is that Starliner had some problems in terms of propulsion. Five of its 28 thrusters in its service module failed during its approach towards ISS. This was due to the overheating of small Teflon poppet seals in its thruster valves. This was further aggravated by its constant activation of thrusters while it was under the sun’s rays. Although it was discovered during its ground test that these valves were functioning well when cooled, it was not considered during its original design. It should also be noted here that Starliner had five helium leaks in its pressurization system – one pre-flight and four others in-orbit – thus raising doubts over its maneuverability. NASA had declared it unsafe for re-entry when it had a crew on board.
These are some of the challenges that have been associated with the failure of the verification process. The first unmanned flight of Starliner orbiting the ISS could not take place in 2019 due to some software problems. OFT-2, 2021, has also been delayed due to some changes being made to the designs of the oxidizer valves, which got corroded. Lastly, as of 2023, some issues have also been raised concerning the integrity of the interconnects of parachutes to the flammable tape, which is being used for wiring harnesses. Issues have also been raised concerning the process escapes during the testing and verification of the Starliner spacecraft by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel of NASA.
The Crew Dragon, which is from SpaceX, has successfully carried out 11 missions for NASA over the years without any issues related to propulsion. Moreover, the integrated design of the Crew Dragon is not facing any issues related to the ‘diagnostic loss,’ as is the case with the disposable service module of the Starliner, as it becomes unanalyzable upon return to earth. Hence, the root cause analysis of the spacecraft designed by the Boeing Company has become increasingly complicated.
Currently, the ground testing is also being carried out by both NASA as well as the Boeing Company to demonstrate the above-mentioned improvements to the designs. Design improvements include the use of thermal barriers, thrusters, as well as pulse profiles to avoid overheating. This is the cargo-only mission, which is also called the Starliner-1 mission, which is also a test mission for critical components, which will have to be successful before the crew missions can take place. Hence, the first crew mission is also being delayed until the end of 2026 as well. The strategy devised by the space organization is also on the lines of the philosophy of ‘dissimilar redundancy,’ as the space organization will ensure the development of at least two U.S.
crew transport systems, aside from the Crew Dragon and the Russian Soyuz, as the U.S. cannot rely on just one. Since the ISS will have to be retired by the end of the year 2030 with just two crew missions annually, hence, the less busy Starliner schedule will also include less activity. There will also be further delays, hence, the SpaceX will become the sole U.S. company to provide crew services until the end of the life span of the ISS. The loss that has been experienced by Boeing in the financial market at the current situation is already above $2 billion, and this occurred since the year 2016. Every time that there will be a flight test and the need for redesigning, the loss will continue to rise. It is not only a certification of the contract for NASA. It is all about the independence of the space organization in the Low Earth Orbits. It is not a training or drill because the cargo flight will determine the success or failure of the Starliner in producing spaceships.
