The Boeing Starlinerthe manned ship that competes with the Crew Dragon of SpaceX in the race to establish regular trips to space for the POT, took off this Wednesday at 4:52 p.m. Spanish time (10:52 a.m. in Florida) from the Cape Canaveral facilities after two postponements, the last just three minutes after ignition. The device, powered by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, carries astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS), where they will stay for a week before returning to the earth.
US Navy Captain Butch Wilmore and the pilot Suni Williams They have remained waiting after the first cancellation of the flight on May 6, when a failure was detected in the launcher’s oxygen pressure regulation valve. After the ULA repaired the device, pre-launch tests detected a helium leak in the service module of the Starliner, which meant carrying out new tests. Finally, the operation was scheduled for last Saturday, but a problem in the power supply for the computer cards that control the launcher forced a suspension just 180 seconds after takeoff. The failure was repaired on Sunday and according to NASA, “the ULA has completed the functional checks and all the hardware [equipo informático] “It works normally.”
The manager of the Commercial Crew Program of NASA, Steve Stitch, has called the delays necessary: “It has been important that we take our time to understand all the complexities of each problem, including the redundant capabilities of the propulsion system and any implications for our Interim Human Rating Certification [la certificación de que una nave espacial o vehículo de lanzamiento es capaz de transportar personas de forma segura]”.
The Starliner Boeing is part of the NASA program that seeks private companies to develop permanent services for transporting people and cargo, for the moment, to the ISS. The capsule has a height of five meters and a diameter of 4.6. It is designed to be reused up to 10 times and carry up to seven people on each trip, although the missions planned by NASA for this commercial transportation program do not exceed five crew members per trip.
The two astronauts are veteran pilots of the US Armed Forces and each has already traveled to the ISS on two occasions. Wilmore has expressed confidence in the mission, which he has described as a test. In this way, the entire operation of the ship, which they consider safe, will be analyzed during it. “We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t,” said the pilot on behalf of both crew members.
During the flight, in-orbit tests will be carried out on the performance of the life support system, the manual and automatic control of the ship and other critical elements before docking with the ISS. After a week on the station, the astronauts are scheduled to land in the southwestern United States. The Starliner will descend with the help of an improved parachute system after problems were detected in the deployment system and the glass fiber ribbons it includes. These deficiencies forced the first postponement on July 21.
“NASA makes it seem like space travel is easy, but in reality it is quite difficult,” Wilmore said to justify the delays. However, he is confident in the mission: “We have received training and have our fingerprints on every procedure that exists for this spacecraft. “We are fully trained in all aspects of Starliner,” says the astronaut. “We feel very safe and comfortable. “This is where we’re supposed to be,” Williams adds.
Boeing has already successfully launched two uncrewed missions. During the last one, on May 19, 2022, the CST-100 Starliner ship docked at the ISS the next day, stayed for four days and finally landed in New Mexico (USA).
The cost of NASA’s contract with Boeing to develop the Starliner was signed 10 years ago for $4.2 billion, an amount that has been periodically reviewed and has been raised to $4.5 billion.
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