Starting now: the second Starliner briefing of the day. This will be focused on the mission overview. Follow this thread for updates.🧵1/n2/ Here's the lineup for this briefing:Mission Overview News Conference• Mike Lammers, Starliner ascent flight director• Vincent LaCourt, International Space Station flight director• Ed Van Cise, Starliner rendezvous flight director3/ Lammers begins the remarks. He's been a flight director for 15 years and he's serving as the lead flight director for Starliner during the ascent phase of the mission.He's responsible for getting the crew into the vehicle and then into space.4/ Lammers says launch in early May with rendezvous 24 hours later. They will do a minimum 8-day mission, but the total length is defined "by orbital mechanics and the weather at the landing locations, which are in the southwest United States."5/ Lammers says the day before launch, the rocket and spacecraft will be rolled out to the pad at SLC-41.On launch day, the crew is turned over to Boeing 4-5 hours before flight. There will be a weather briefing prior to suit up.6/ 4 hours prior to launch, they hand over to Houston. Besides Boeing teams in Houston and Florida, there is also a ULA team in Colorado.Rocket is fueled during crew suit up. Hatch closed 1 hr. 24 min. before flight. Following leak checks, teams clear pad 50 min. out.7/ L-18 min., transfer to internal power. In the final 4 min., there will be a final switch throw, which will arm the abort system.8/ Lammers notes that this will be the first mission ascent that's controlled from Mission Control in Houston since STS-135 in 2011.9/ Stage separation happens about 4.5 minutes after liftoff. MECO is at about 12 minutes into the mission, which sets up spacecraft separation.31 min. into the mission, the engines on Starliner will ignite. There will be one more burn about 1 hr. 15 min. into the mission.10/ Van Cise has been with Starliner since 2016. Because this is a test, they're putting it through some addition paces to verify some of its capabilities with crew on board.Some of those include pointing the spacecraft in an off-nominal orientation and then correcting it.11/ Van Cise says the crew will look at stars to manually reorient the spacecraft without the use of some of the automated navigation systems.They're also putting the thrusters through a manual, flying checkout. This will happen on the first day of the mission.12/ They will look through the data while the crew is sleeping and will discuss it all with Boeing and NASA.13/ Here's a breakdown of the first four days docked to the ISS:14/ Here are the next four days docked to the ISS:15/ And the final planned day docked to the ISS:16/ These are the potential landing sites for Starliner. The landing sequence begins at about 30,000 feet.17/ After the forward heat shield is deployed, the airbags deploy. Crews will be brought up on a satellite phone to communicate with the astronauts. The landing team is about 4 km away from the landing site.18/ Beginning the Q&A, Van Cise notes that he and Lammers will be side-by-side with Boeing in the white flight control room.He says some of the flight commit criteria for Starliner are Boeing products.19/ LaCourt says from the ISS flight director position side of things, they operate similarly to how they work with SpaceX. They consult with the spacecraft provider experts when it comes to rendezvous and docking.20/ LaCourt says Starliner is prepared to remain docked to the ISS as long as is necessary.Lammers adds that this is the spacecraft that will remain docked to the ISS for six months, so no issue on that side.21/ Van Cise says largely, all the spacecraft trajectories regarding approaching the ISS are the same. The approach is very similar from the ISS side, but Starliner uses some different sensors for its approach.22/ Lammers says, regarding the relationship between them and Boeing, when working Starliner, he says that work is being funded and managed by Boeing. "Boeing runs the mission."23/ Regarding launch/commit criteria, Lammers says ULA has its own. For Starliner, all the flight computers and IMUs have to be running prior to launch. There are some redundancies though, like having four tablets when they could fly with three, if needed.24/ The dry dress rehearsal is about 7 or 8 days before launch. They call it a "crew training activity." A key difference between a Starliner and Dragon dry dress is that the rocket is not at the pad for the former. They will enter the vehicle while it's in the VIF.25/ Lammers says Starliner has the capability for a fly around, which will not be performed on CFT, but may be done on Starliner-1, depending on NASA's request.26/ The weather constraint for landing, per Lammers, is to have the lowest wind possible (less than 10 knots is ideal).There are no lighting landing requirements, but he says they prefer night landings. The scape suits they wear get hot and with desert landings, cooler is good.27/ Van Cise says for CFT, there is not a capability for live video downlink. There is a camera running for free flight phasing, but it will be recorded and played back once it's docked to the ISS.28/ The system is lacking the connection from the data to a transmission system, which is why there will be no live data.29/ Lammers notes that the Starliner flight control team is also responsible for other operations within NASA. He says having multiple responsibilities is helpful because it gives them a lot of experience.30/30 Lammers says the descent rate is about 25 feet per second. He says the landing conditions are firm, but relatively gentle, even if an airbag were to not fully inflate on Starliner.Final briefing is at 1 pm CT.
Happening now: we're getting our final Starliner briefing of the day with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Follow along for updates.🧵1/n2/ Wilmore says the shuttle and Soyuz training paths to launch were pretty straightforward since all the tasks were prepared. He says this is very different since they're helping to develop those steps.3/ Williams says the crew is the "last line of defense" to make sure everything is working correctly. Thinking back to shuttle, there was a good bit of manual interaction, and there's some in Soyuz as well.Starliner is more automated, but looking forward to "shaking things out"4/ Wilmore: "We don't expect any failures, significant failures, but it something were to occur, because we're all humans, we can't build things perfectly, we have several downgrade modes, one of which is manual."5/ Wilmore says he doesn't focus on the finish line, but rather he's focused on making sure the spacecraft is ready before launch.Williams says they've affected some of the changes that needed to happen going through development after OFT.6/ Wilmore: "It's a test pilot's dream" going through this mission in the run-up to launch.Williams says she's looking forward to getting into quarantine, since that will make things feel more tangible.7/ Wilmore says Starliner-1 will continue being somewhat of a test mission as well, even though it won't be called such. Mike Fincke is the backup crew member to CFT and has been training with them.8/ Williams says while they have their assigned seats, they will swap positions at certain points in flight. She says there are extra tablets and some backup paper procedures as redundancies, if something were to happen to the tablets.9/ Williams says it's "great to get to this spot" after being assigned to the Commercial Crew Program about 9 years ago.Says it's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but "we knew we would get here eventually."10/ Williams says she will bring a couple things from an elementary school in Massachusetts.Wilmore says having the Navy wings of gold with the astronaut symbol in the center is a special thing. They made a ring out of that for their scheduler, Michelle.11/ Wilmore says while he has the title of "Commander" on this mission, they go back to their test pilot school days and highly respects her expertise. He says they share responsibilities together.12/ Wilmore points to the virtuality training that they received, which is a helpful and relatively new element of their training.13/ Wilmore says there are new displays now that weren't in place a year and a half ago, which are "hugely beneficial to the operation of this spacecraft."Williams adds that they were able to influence some of the designs to get some of the full capability that they wanted.14/ Wilmore said something as small as the crew suit and seat integration was something they were able to weigh in on and make some modifications.15/ Giving kudos to ULA, Williams told an anecdote about talking with the head of a "very expensive" payload that was launched on an Atlas V. She said following that, she had high confidence in flying aboard that rocket.Wilmore jokes they are ULA's 1st self-loading payload.16/ Following spacecraft separation, they will circularize their orbit and following their second burn, they will start doing some of their manual tasks.17/ Wilmoe says coming "down hill" (returning to Earth) is when they will go in to a so-called "backup mode" where they don't have a computer, but instead an integrated propulsion controller. The IPC is almost a direct control to the engine.18/ Wilmore says the RD-180 engine will throttle to not exceed 3G's during ascent.19/19 Williams says she doesn't think about herself being the first woman to fly the first test mission of a spacecraft. She says she's just focused on making sure the spacecraft is safe.That's all for today's final briefing. Launch of CFT is targeting May 1.
… Assuming all these milestones go off without a hitch, the Atlas V will roll out to its launch pad a couple of days before liftoff. Then, late on April 30, Wilmore and Williams will put on their solid blue pressure suits and strap into Starliner for launch at 12:55 am EDT (04:55 UTC) on May 1.
Ars Technica article on Boeing, including Starliner CFT status: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/despite-turbulence-at-boeing-astronauts-are-ready-to-fly-companys-starliner/
Stich said the agency has close oversight of Boeing on the Starliner program."We had people side by side inspecting the tape, inspecting the wiring after the tape was removed, making sure that was done properly, same thing with parachutes. So, the process is a little different than aviation," he said. "We’re talking two spacecraft that are going to fly multiple missions. So a lot individual care and feeding goes into every single one of those spacecraft, and NASA is side by side with Boeing.”
The Ars article makes it appear that NASA is giving Starliner a whole lot more scrutiny that it gave Crew Dragon:QuoteStich said the agency has close oversight of Boeing on the Starliner program."We had people side by side inspecting the tape, inspecting the wiring after the tape was removed, making sure that was done properly, same thing with parachutes. So, the process is a little different than aviation," he said. "We’re talking two spacecraft that are going to fly multiple missions. So a lot individual care and feeding goes into every single one of those spacecraft, and NASA is side by side with Boeing.”
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 03/26/2024 02:14 amArs Technica article on Boeing, including Starliner CFT status: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/despite-turbulence-at-boeing-astronauts-are-ready-to-fly-companys-starliner/I really, really hope for a flawless flight, and that is the most likely result.The Ars article makes it appear that NASA is giving Starliner a whole lot more scrutiny that it gave Crew Dragon<snip>
Quote from: DanClemmensen on 03/26/2024 03:40 amQuote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 03/26/2024 02:14 amArs Technica article on Boeing, including Starliner CFT status: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/despite-turbulence-at-boeing-astronauts-are-ready-to-fly-companys-starliner/I really, really hope for a flawless flight, and that is the most likely result.The Ars article makes it appear that NASA is giving Starliner a whole lot more scrutiny that it gave Crew Dragon<snip>Although the article might suggest that Boeing is exposed to greater scrutiny, it is not actually true.SpaceX has NASA personnel embedded in all of its CCP and CRS teams (both Falcon and Dragon). What SpaceX sees and knows is exactly what NASA also sees and knows.It is one of the key reasons why CRS and CCP have been so successful: being fully open to your customer about everything, does a lot to build trust.
Quote from: woods170 on 03/27/2024 10:59 amQuote from: DanClemmensen on 03/26/2024 03:40 amQuote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 03/26/2024 02:14 amArs Technica article on Boeing, including Starliner CFT status: https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/despite-turbulence-at-boeing-astronauts-are-ready-to-fly-companys-starliner/I really, really hope for a flawless flight, and that is the most likely result.The Ars article makes it appear that NASA is giving Starliner a whole lot more scrutiny that it gave Crew Dragon<snip>Although the article might suggest that Boeing is exposed to greater scrutiny, it is not actually true.SpaceX has NASA personnel embedded in all of its CCP and CRS teams (both Falcon and Dragon). What SpaceX sees and knows is exactly what NASA also sees and knows.It is one of the key reasons why CRS and CCP have been so successful: being fully open to your customer about everything, does a lot to build trust.So Starliner has seen 10 years of NASA scrutiny, paid for by the taxpayer, while Crew Dragon saw 5.5 years of scrutiny prior to its CFT? were the NASA teams the same size? This NASA work was the right thing to do no matter who paid for it, of course.
“We were, I would say, a little more used to the Boeing process,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, said during a news conference on Tuesday. “It’s one that we have used in the past on successful NASA programs like space shuttle and the International Space Station.”“We may have been focused a little more on SpaceX because they use a bit of a nontraditional approach to their software development,” Mr. Stich said. “And so we may have had a few more people looking at that.”
So Starliner has seen 10 years of NASA scrutiny, paid for by the taxpayer, while Crew Dragon saw 5.5 years of scrutiny prior to its CFT? were the NASA teams the same size? This NASA work was the right thing to do no matter who paid for it, of course.
SpaceX benefited tremendously from our NASA collaboration as part of @Commercial_Crew. Their spacecraft design succeeded because of their smart and hard work, but also because top JSC engineers partnered with them all the way.Boeing did not allow collaboration in the same way. I was the spacecraft struc mech system manager on the nasa side. These 2 companies had very different relationships with my team.Boeing believed it had all the answers, did not appear to understand the nature of a fixed price contract, and treated my team like people they hardly needed. SpaceX welcomed wisdom and guidance and fully partnered with our engineers.To be clear, by “Boeing” I mean mgmt. the engineers we worked with were just as frustrated as we were.
https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/1775563837728563513QuoteJust completed a successful Mission Success Review for #CFT1, our first crewed mission. Very exciting! Doing everything thing we can to give Butch and Suni a boring trip to ISS on the Atlas.
Just completed a successful Mission Success Review for #CFT1, our first crewed mission. Very exciting! Doing everything thing we can to give Butch and Suni a boring trip to ISS on the Atlas.
Two NASA astronauts are set to make history as the first members aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. As the final flight test for Starliner, NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test will validate the transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operational capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly Starliner, lifting off aboard ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, for about a one week stay aboard the space station. The Starliner and crew will land under parachutes and an airbag-assisted landing in the western United States. This is Boeing’s second flight to the International Space Station and third Starliner flight test overall, following a second Orbital Flight Test, the uncrewed mission also known as OFT-2, in May 2022. Boeing also completed pad aboart demonstration in November 2019.
NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Mission OverviewQuoteTwo NASA astronauts are set to make history as the first members aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. As the final flight test for Starliner, NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test will validate the transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operational capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly Starliner, lifting off aboard ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, for about a one week stay aboard the space station. The Starliner and crew will land under parachutes and an airbag-assisted landing in the western United States. This is Boeing’s second flight to the International Space Station and third Starliner flight test overall, following a second Orbital Flight Test, the uncrewed mission also known as OFT-2, in May 2022. Boeing also completed pad aboart demonstration in November 2019.
The spacecraft set to carry two NASA astronauts on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station is ready to move from its production facility to the launch site. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will roll out of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday, April 16, to the Vertical Integration Facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to connect to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.The crewed flight test is targeting launch no earlier than 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly aboard Starliner and will dock at the space station’s forward port of the Harmony module. The duo will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before Starliner makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.
