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Yesterday β€” 28 June 2024Main stream

NASA orders more tests on Starliner, but says crew isn’t stranded in space

βœ‡Ars Technica
By: Stephen Clark
28 June 2024 at 18:58
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is seen docked at the International Space Station on June 13.

Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is seen docked at the International Space Station on June 13. (credit: NASA)

NASA and Boeing officials pushed back Friday on headlines that the commercial Starliner crew capsule is stranded at the International Space Station but said they need more time to analyze data before formally clearing the spacecraft for undocking and reentry.

Two NASA astronauts, commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will spend at least a few more weeks on the space station as engineers on the ground conduct thruster tests to better understand issues with the Starliner propulsion system in orbit. Wilmore and Williams launched June 5 aboard an Atlas V rocket and docked at the station the next day, completing the first segment of Starliner's first test flight with astronauts.

NASA managers originally planned for the Starliner spacecraft to remain docked at the space station for at least eight days, although they left open the possibility of a mission extension. The test flight is now likely to last at least a month and a half, and perhaps longer, as engineers wrestle with helium leaks and thruster glitches on Starliner's service module.

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Before yesterdayMain stream

May and June 2024 in space

βœ‡MetaFilter
By: doctornemo
26 June 2024 at 16:32
Around the sun, into orbit, towards the asteroids, to the moon and back again It's been too long since an update on humanity's space exploration. Let's catch up. There's a lot going on:

Sun NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory imaged Sol firing off two strong solar flares. The European Space Agency (ESA) published close-up footage of the Sun taken by the Solar Orbiter. Venus Researchers used Magellan spacecraft data from the early 1990s to determine that Venus probably has some ongoing volcanic activity. On Earth's surface Construction on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is nearly finished. In Texas SpaceX wants to produce one Starship rocket per day in their impending StarFactory. From Earth to orbit Successes: after months of delays, Boeing's Starliner finally launched and carried two astronauts to dock with the International Space Station (ISS), albeit with persistent helium leaks and thruster problems (previously). SpaceX launched and for the first time successfully splashed down a Starship. SpaceX reports it now carries 87% of orbital tonnage. A Long March 2C rocket carried a Franco-Chinese satellite, the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), into orbit to study gamma ray bursts. NASA's first Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) cubesat rode a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Māhia, New Zealand into orbit, followed by another. Rocket Lab also orbited a South Korean Earth observing satellite as well as a solar sail experiment. GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite in the Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R Series, rode a Falcon Heavy into orbit. South Korea confirmed a North Korean launch failed to reach orbit. In Earth orbit "For the first time in history, three different crewed vehicles, Starliner, SpaceX's Dragon, and Russia's Soyuz, were all simultaneously docked" at the ISS. Zebrafish on the Tiangong space station are "showing directional behavior anomalies, such as inverted swimming and rotary movement." (video) NASA has delayed Starliner's return indefinitely. Leaks on the ISS are a persistent problem. The Hubble space telescope lost another gyroscope. An astronaut wants to help. Back down to Earth The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on making its space missions free of debris. A video clip shows a Chinese rocket falling near a village. NASA confirmed that SpaceX debris fell on North Carolina. Earth's moon Chang'e-6 (嫦ε¨₯六号) blasted off from Earth, traveled to the moon, then landed in the South Pole–Aitken basin, taking a selfie, and planting a flag made of stone. Two days later its ascender lifted off, carrying two kilograms of lunar material, which it delivered to its orbiter, which then transported the stuff successfully to the Earth's surface. (mix of official video footage and animation) Lunar plans: Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced their intention to build a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2035. A Japanese billionaire canceled his planned lunar trip. Mars The ESA and NASA agreed on a shared Martian rover project. NASA awarded nine companies grants to develop feasibility studies for Martian missions. To the asteroids Beyond the orbit of Mars, heading to its first asteroid, NASA's Psyche spacecraft fired up its electric thrusters. A research team applied AI to Hubble data and found more than 1,000 new asteroids. Saturn NASA approved funding for the Dragonfly mission to Titan. In the Kuiper belt Voyager 1 restarted sending data all the way back to Earth. (previously) Way, way beyond the solar system The James Webb space telescope imaged the farthest known galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0.

After a drama-filled day, Boeing’s Starliner finally finds its way

βœ‡Ars Technica
By: Eric Berger
6 June 2024 at 20:14
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on Thursday.

Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on Thursday. (credit: NASA TV)

A little more than a day after launching into space, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft flew up to the International Space Station and docked with the orbiting laboratory on Thursday.

The journey through space was not always easy. In the immediate hours after launch on Wednesday, the spacecraft was beset by two helium leaks in its propulsion system. Then, on Thursday, several of Starliner's spacecraft thrusters went offline for a time. Far more often than originally planned, spacecraft commander Butch Wilmore had to take manual control of Starliner while engineers on the ground worked on these and other issues.

However, at 1:34 pm ET on Thursday, Wilmore and the mission's other crew member, Suni Williams, successfully docked with the space station. A couple of hours later, they floated through the hatch, making a triumphant entry onto the stationβ€”and making history.

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Boeing’s Starliner finally soars, but mission control reports more helium leaks

βœ‡Ars Technica
By: Stephen Clark
6 June 2024 at 02:39
Boeing's Starliner capsule lifts off aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket.

Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner capsule lifts off aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. (credit: United Launch Alliance)

After years of delays, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft finally rocketed into orbit from Florida on Wednesday, sending two veteran NASA astronauts on a long-delayed shakedown cruise to the International Space Station.

The Starliner capsule lifted off at 10:52 am EDT (14:52 UTC) on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Fifteen minutes later, after shedding two strap-on boosters and a core stage powered by a Russian RD-180 engine, the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage released Starliner right on target to begin a nearly 26-hour pursuit of the space station. Docking at the space station is set for 12:15 pm EDT (16:15 UTC) Thursday, where NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will spend at least a week before coming back to Earth.

In remarks shortly after Wednesday's launch, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Wilmore and Williams, both former US Navy pilots, will "test this thing from izzard to gizzard" to ensure Boeing's Starliner is ready for operational six-month crew rotation missions to the ISS.

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