Quote from: okan170 on 04/09/2018 05:55 pmQuote from: chipguy on 04/09/2018 05:33 pmQuote from: Ike17055 on 04/01/2018 04:52 pmWhile I appreciate the excitement on this website for what Space X is accomplshing, I am somewhat baffled that there isn’t more excitement (or more postings) for this Boeing entry.This particular spacecraft configuration/architecture was pretty exciting... 50 years ago.Its almost the same as the other spacecraft. People are more excited for a certain company's hype.Maybe it is because I grew up watching Apollo, but to me, Starliner is something akin to what we may have seen Apollo evolve into, at least for LEO taxi service, had we remained with its incredibly robust and practical configuration, probably guaranteeing easier and reliable regular access to LEO without the huge involvement required for an Orbiter launch. Shuttle was an incredible vehicle, but its much higher than expected costs, and safety concerns limited its practical applications to high-cost, high-profile undertakings.This design is being returned to because it works and is practical in its relative simplicity. The ease of access to orbit, and the possibility of Boeing evolving the core vehicle for more intensive needs, is an exciting prospect. Why is it some folks think because it was used (very successfully) decades ago, but then abandoned, that it no longer has validity as an excellent design. This is like looking at the B2 bomber and saying “ya know, the old B49 already did the flying wing configuration, and you know, it wasnt the best thing in the sky — and we moved on decades ago — so the B2 will likewise be worthless...”.
Quote from: chipguy on 04/09/2018 05:33 pmQuote from: Ike17055 on 04/01/2018 04:52 pmWhile I appreciate the excitement on this website for what Space X is accomplshing, I am somewhat baffled that there isn’t more excitement (or more postings) for this Boeing entry.This particular spacecraft configuration/architecture was pretty exciting... 50 years ago.Its almost the same as the other spacecraft. People are more excited for a certain company's hype.
Quote from: Ike17055 on 04/01/2018 04:52 pmWhile I appreciate the excitement on this website for what Space X is accomplshing, I am somewhat baffled that there isn’t more excitement (or more postings) for this Boeing entry.This particular spacecraft configuration/architecture was pretty exciting... 50 years ago.
While I appreciate the excitement on this website for what Space X is accomplshing, I am somewhat baffled that there isn’t more excitement (or more postings) for this Boeing entry.
For me, Boeing isn't flying any version of the Starliner and the other guys are flying a version of theirs.On the other hand, it has been fun watching Boeing lose on the Orion competition, builds from that and work with Bigelow to come to the Starliner and may will fly before Orion.
On the other hand, it has been fun watching Boeing lose on the Orion competition, builds from that and work with Bigelow to come to the Starliner and may will fly before Orion.
Quote from: Kansan52 on 04/12/2018 03:55 pmOn the other hand, it has been fun watching Boeing lose on the Orion competition, builds from that and work with Bigelow to come to the Starliner and may will fly before Orion.Orion has already flown (EFT-1 with a dummy service module on 5 December 2014). Starliner will fly crew before Orion though.
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 04/13/2018 08:06 amQuote from: Kansan52 on 04/12/2018 03:55 pmOn the other hand, it has been fun watching Boeing lose on the Orion competition, builds from that and work with Bigelow to come to the Starliner and may will fly before Orion.Orion has already flown (EFT-1 with a dummy service module on 5 December 2014). Starliner will fly crew before Orion though.What flew on EFT-1 in 2014 was a bare-bones version of the crew module, with an inert LAS and structural spacer in stead of service module.Doing an apples-to-apples comparison between Starliner and Orion - with regards to flight testing that is - is comparing Starliner's OFT against Orion's EM-1. Both missions will fly unmanned versions of the full-up spacecraft.In which case Starliner flies well before Orion.
Quote from: woods170 on 04/13/2018 09:25 amQuote from: Steven Pietrobon on 04/13/2018 08:06 amQuote from: Kansan52 on 04/12/2018 03:55 pmOn the other hand, it has been fun watching Boeing lose on the Orion competition, builds from that and work with Bigelow to come to the Starliner and may will fly before Orion.Orion has already flown (EFT-1 with a dummy service module on 5 December 2014). Starliner will fly crew before Orion though.What flew on EFT-1 in 2014 was a bare-bones version of the crew module, with an inert LAS and structural spacer in stead of service module.Doing an apples-to-apples comparison between Starliner and Orion - with regards to flight testing that is - is comparing Starliner's OFT against Orion's EM-1. Both missions will fly unmanned versions of the full-up spacecraft.In which case Starliner flies well before Orion.I always find it amazing that so many will say “what flew wasn’t REALLY a real Orion,” but then will just as boldly say that Dragon “is already flying,” as if there is no real difference between crew dragon and cargo dragon. Orion for EFT-1 bore just as much resemblance to its completed version (more, in the opinion of some) as the cargo Dragon does to its built-outs uccessor, the Crew Dragon, with which it mainly shares a similar or identical pressure vessel.
Full house. A full crew evaluates what it will be like on the @Boeing #Starliner during launch and landing day. Exercises like this help define procedures and give the crew a sense of what to expect. @Commercial_Crew
<snip> What is the right hand side astronaut doing?
Sometimes we just need to vent! See + hear the #Starliner propellant system release pressure, a test we'll perform before every flight.
QuoteSometimes we just need to vent! See + hear the #Starliner propellant system release pressure, a test we'll perform before every flight.
The upper and lower domes of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft 2 Crew Flight Test Vehicle were mated June 19, 2018, inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Starliner will launch astronauts on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.Photo credit: Boeing