WASHINGTON — NASA and Boeing said May 26 they’re still working towards a July launch of the CST-100 Starliner on a crewed test flight despite “emerging issues” and concerns raised by a security panel.
In a press release issued just before the close of business ahead of a vacation weekend, the 2 organizations said they accomplished a “checkpoint review” May 25 of preparations for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, currently scheduled for no sooner than July 21. Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will fly on CFT to the International Space Station on the short test flight, the primary crewed flight of the spacecraft.
NASA and Boeing said they’ve now accomplished 95% of the certification work needed for CFT. They’ve also addressed all of the anomalies from the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 mission, an uncrewed test flight of Starliner to the ISS one 12 months ago.
“We’re taking a methodical approach to the primary crewed flight of Starliner incorporating all the lessons learned from the varied in-depth testing campaigns,” Steve Stich, NASA industrial crew program manager, said in a press release. “Along with the closeout of ongoing work, the team stays vigilant on tracking recent technical issues as we complete certification for crewed flight.”
That statement mentioned “emerging issues that need a path to closure” before NASA and Boeing determine to fuel the spacecraft in June for a July launch. Boeing officials said earlier this 12 months they decided to fuel the spacecraft only inside 60 days of launch as a measure to mitigate any fuel leaks that might corrode valves, a difficulty that delayed an August 2021 launch attempt for OFT-2.
Among the many issues is swapping out a valve within the thermal control system within the spacecraft’s service module, which was reducing flow in one among two redundant loops that cool the vehicle’s avionics. The valve substitute will take about per week, NASA and Boeing said, and mustn’t affect the CFT launch schedule.
Engineers are also evaluating whether tape used on wiring could pose a flammability risk. Although that tape is often used on other spacecraft, they’re evaluating if it is appropriate for crewed flight. The organizations said that assessment ought to be done before the choice to fuel the spacecraft.
One other system being reviewed is Starliner’s parachutes. NASA and Boeing said they’re reassessing margins within the parachutes, including the “overall efficiency” of joints in that system, to make sure they achieve the required safety aspects for a crewed spacecraft.
The statement got here a day after a public meeting of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) where the committee’s chair, Patricia Sanders, raised concerns concerning the ability to finish work, akin to parachute certification, in time to satisfy the planned July 21 launch.
“It’s imperative that NASA not succumb to pressure, even unconsciously, to get CFT launched without adequately addressing all of the remaining impediments to certification,” she said, recommending that NASA herald an independent group, akin to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, “to take a deep have a look at the items on the trail to closure.”
The NASA/Boeing statement didn’t mention the ASAP meeting. Nevertheless, it did address one issue Sanders raised concerning the spacecraft’s batteries. The organizations said they’d approved the batteries to be used on CFT “based on additional testing and evaluation” with a proposal to upgrade the batteries on future missions.
Stich, within the statement, said the agency and company had made progress since late March, after they announced the certification work would push the CFT launch from April to July.
“Should you look back two months ago on the work we had ahead of us, it’s just about all complete,” he said. “The combined team is resilient and resolute of their goal of flying crew on Starliner as soon because it is protected to achieve this.”
Nevertheless, he didn’t rule out a slip from the present July launch date. “If a schedule adjustment must be made in the longer term, then we will definitely try this as we’ve got done before. We are going to only fly once we are ready.”