• rcbrk@lemmy.ml
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    14 days ago

    Huh. Even Boeing doesn’t want to be associated with Boeing:

    Boeing executives have repeatedly sought to make clear that the Starliner program operates independently from the company’s other units — including the commercial aircraft division that has been at the center of scandals for years.

    • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
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      13 days ago

      The classic rebranding ala facebook -> meta / insta, or food companies with their thousands of differently named subsidiaries.

      • mkwt@lemmy.world
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        14 days ago

        No, the spacecraft gets lumped in with the military business unit because the contracting structures are similar, and very different from how commercial aircraft development is financed.

  • mkwt@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    To be clear: to get back to the ground safely, the spacecraft RCS has to operate for no more than about five hours.

    As far as I know, this spacecraft is still certified for emergency reentry, and if they needed to, the crew can get in and leave at any time. And they have good confidence that the spacecraft will get them to earth safely.

    These delays aimed at getting more data to justify certification as an operational vehicle instead of flight test. If it doesn’t work out, the worst case seems to be that a second test flight may be required.

    Delays don’t really cost NASA anything either. There’s plenty of consumables on the station for the crew, and when the capsule is docked the RCS can be shut down so it doesn’t leak.

    • nelly_man@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      Yeah, reading the article, it sounds like they’ve decided to park at the space station because the parts that malfunctioned during the journey to the space station were not designed to survive re-entry, meaning that they won’t have the opportunity to understand what went wrong with them after they return to Earth. So they’re delaying the departure in order to collect as much information as possible about what went wrong in the first part of the mission. They’re still confident that a safe return is going to happen.

  • froh42@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Where’s the problem? If the door opens blows out en route the astronauts will probably still reentry.

    • Chainweasel@lemmy.world
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      14 days ago

      After a half decade of delays and several major issues, including it spinning out of control in space on it’s first test flight, and all the issues with literally anything else Boeing touches, I can’t see how they talked them into getting in it in the first place.
      I’m pretty sure it hasn’t had a single fully successfully test flight yet so I’m surprised even NASA allowed it.

    • wewbull@feddit.uk
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      14 days ago

      They are safe on the space station. They have all the time they need to sort it out. They can even wait for another craft to arrive.

    • zhunk@beehaw.org
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      14 days ago

      Realistically, there’s a SpaceX Dragon docked to the ISS, so that’s probably their emergency shelter and ride home.

  • doubtingtammy@lemmy.ml
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    13 days ago

    Thanks, Obama. Really glad you privatized space travel. It’s going great. Our space program now consists of Guy who wants space apartheid, and company whose name is synonymous with planes that crash for no reason.

    • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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      13 days ago

      I mean, private companies have been responsible for every launch since the Soviet Union fell (unless China is fully state owned, I don’t know)

      NASA modifies equipment sometimes but they were always buying launch vehicles from private industry.

      • SinJab0n@mujico.org
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        11 days ago

        private companies have been responsible for every launch since the Soviet Union fel

        they were always buying launch vehicles from private industry.

        So… u r telling me the private sector only came after homework was done, just taking the rights to produce and sell? who could have guessed…