"And every now and again, in rare occasions, a valve like that can get into a position where it's just off the seat. Its temperature, its stiffness, everything is just right. And it'll flutter. Or it'll buzz — in this case — in cycle," he said.
Explaining a possible repair scenario, Bruno said ULA crews would roll the rocket off the pad back into the company's nearby Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41; support and "stretch" the Centaur stage; replace the valve without having to remove the Starliner capsule; and roll the rocket back to the pad.
"Overall, things were going really well in the launch countdown. In fact, we were a little bit ahead of the timeline and talking about maybe being able to close the hatch a little bit early," Stich said.
Ken Bowersox, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate associate administrator, said the liquid-oxygen valve issue violated flight rules and prompted crews to begin troubleshooting.
"Good things are worth waiting for. And we'll get a chance to see that rocket and spacecraft lift off the pad here soon," Bowersox said.
In its Tuesday night statement, ULA officials said, "NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain at crew quarters in health stabilization until the next launch opportunity."
Quelle: Florida Today
----
Update: 14.05.2024
.
Friday launch possible for Alabama Atlas-V, despite reported arguments over the rocket
Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket is seen at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station a day after its mission to the International Space Station was scrubbed because of an issue with a pressure regulation valve, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
NASA, Boeing, and Alabama rocket builder United Launch Alliance are still shooting for this Friday (at the earliest,) for the blastoff of an Atlas-V. The rocket is supposed to carry a new space capsule called Starliner. That flight has been delayed since early last week because of a value issue on the rocket built at the ULA factory in Decatur. The cancellation, known as a “scrub,” meant NASA and the space agency’s supporters will have to wait to see the first test launch of the Starliner, with astronauts on board.
This is the first time people have flown on an Alabama built Atlas-V. Previous unmanned launches of this this type of rocket have included the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto, the Mars InSight lander, and the Osiris Rex mission to gather rock and soil samples from an asteroid called Bennu. Ironically, if there was an unmanned payload on the launch pad last week, the Atlas might have blasted off.
Tory Bruno is President and CEO of United Launch Alliance. That’s the company that built the Atlas-V in Alabama. He says Starliner prompted engineers to load the rocket with extra safeguards and launch safety procedures that would apply if there were astronauts aboard.
“And like I said, if it were a satellite, we would have simply cycled the valve, the buzzing would have stopped, finished the count in lunged. That's not what we planned for crew mission. And so we stayed with the rules and the procedures and scrubbed as a result,” he said.
When Starliner’s launch was called off, Former Astronaut Ken Bowersox spoke with the press. He’s the Associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate. "Good things are worth waiting for. And we'll get a chance to see that rocket and spacecraft lift off the pad here soon," he said.
It bears noting that Bowersox commanded space shuttle Columbia on science mission in orbit in 1995. It was called STS-73, and its eventual blastoff was delayed six times because of bad weather. As tedious as that sounds, it’s not even the record for the most launch scrubs. It tied another Columbia mission back in 1986 that was delayed six times as well. STS-61C was the last shuttle to fly before the 1986 Challenger explosion that killed seven astronauts. One of the astronauts aboard that much delayed Columbia mission was then U.S. Congressman Bill Nelson. He's now NASA's top administrator.
One person who appeared ready for a delay or two is Dana Weigel, NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager. The orbiting outpost is Starliner’s ultimate destination, with the new vehicle docking on a mission scheduled to last a week or so. Weigel says the space station program knows this is a test flight and made room for the new spacecraft to make the trip.
We're not in a rush to fly from a station standpoint, we did clear our summer schedule intentionally to give us plenty of runway for the CFT (Crew Flight Test) mission,” said Weigel. “Our next docking vehicle comes up in August. So, plenty of time when CFT is ready to fly, when you will a Boeing and ULA (United Launch Alliance) give that final GO station will be ready for CFT to come on board.”
NASA hired both Boeing and SpaceX to build U.S. spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The SpaceX “Crew Dragon” capsule has ferried crews on a series of successful missions. Boeing’s Starliner, by contrast, has yet to fly a crew. Unmanned missions have been plagued with technical issues, including software problems and concerns with the parachute harnesses meant to cushion the Starliner’s descent and eventual touchdown on solid ground.
Quelle: Alabama Public Radio
----
Update: 15.05.2024
.
What's behind latest delay of Boeing Starliner launch from Florida?
After making it to the launch pad earlier this month only to face an issue with the Atlas V rocket, this week's planned launch of Boeing’s Starliner from Cape Canaveral is delayed yet again − now the inaugural crewed flight is set for no earlier than Tuesday, May 21st.
Originally set for May 6, the launch was scrubbed when a faulty oxygen valve on the Atlas V was discovered with almost two hours left until launch. The crew was in the process of getting in the spacecraft when teams called off the launch to investigate the valve.
United Launch Alliance teams decided to replace the valve and to do so required rolling the rocket and the attached Starliner back to the Vertical Integration Facility.
With the valve replaced May 11, the plan was to push ahead toward a launch this Friday, but now another issue has cropped up: this time on the spacecraft itself.
Latest delay on Starliner due helium leak on Starliner
A statement released by Boeing said that a small helium leak was detected in the spacecraft’s service module — the disposable module which sits below the spacecraft and contains the thrusters and launch abort engines.
The helium leak was found to be coming from a "flange on a single reaction control system thruster." While helium is not reactive, it is used within thrusters to assist in firing. In order to ensure the safety of the spacecraft, the Boeing team states they plan to fully investigate the leak and that means bringing Starliner’s propulsion system to the state seen before launch.
Boeing added that they aren't currently tracking any other issues with the spacecraft.
Rocket valve caused initial delay
The initial delay was prompted by an issue with an oxygen valve on the Atlas V rocket.
"And every now and again, in rare occasions, a valve like that can get into a position where it's just off the seat. Its temperature, its stiffness, everything is just right. And it'll flutter. Or it'll buzz — in this case — in cycle," ULA President Tory Bruno said during a press conference which followed the May 6 night scrub.
"We've seen that before," said Bruno. "What you would typically do is activate the solenoid that forces the valve closed − cycling the valve, if you will − then you turn that on and let it return.”
But with a crew involved, the launch had to be stopped for the day. The astronauts were never in any danger, officials noted.
The next day ULA crews investigated the valve issue, only to make the call later in the day to replace it.
New Starliner launch date
The launch of Starliner is now set for no earlier than 4:43 p.m. Tuesday, May 21 at 4:43 p.m. The astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, reportedly returned to Houston to be with their families and now plan to return to Florida in the coming days.
Quelle: Florida Today
----
Update: 19.05.2024
.
Starliner delays continue. Crewed launch now set for no earlier than May 25
Those who made plans to watch Starliner lift off on Tuesday will need to adjust. Starliner is again facing a delay.
After the maiden crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner was scrubbed May 6, the rocket was rolled back off the launch pad for United Launch Alliance crews to replace a faulty oxygen valve on the second stage of the rocket. The new launch date of no earlier than May 17 was given, yet Boeing crews discovered an issue on the spacecraft. Launch was changed for no earlier than Tuesday, May 21.
But Friday NASA officials stated that Starliner will now target a launch of no sooner than 3:09 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 25.
Starliner, which will ferry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station alongside SpaceX after certification, has faced multiple delays over the past two years as it headed for the launch pad. Finally mounted atop the Atlas V rocket at Launch Complex 41, those delays continue.
On May 6, as NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams boarded the spacecraft for the first crewed test flight, a "flutter" was seen with an oxygen valve on the ULA Atlas V rocket's upper stage. With crew onboard, protocol called for a scrub to ensure crew safety.
"We've seen that before," said ULA's Tory Bruno during a post scrub press conference. "What you would typically do is activate the solenoid that forces the valve closed − cycling the valve, if you will − then you turn that on and let it return.”
ULA crews inspected the issue through the next day before announcing they would roll the Atlas V rocket back to the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) and replace the troublesome oxygen valve.
What has caused the latest delay to launch Starliner?
On May 11, while crews were working on the rocket's upper stage, a helium leak was detected coming from the Starliner service module, which is the disposable lower part of the spacecraft containing engines and thrusters. The Boeing team narrowed down the cause of the leak to a single reaction control system thruster in the service module, and called for a launch attempt no sooner than Tuesday, May 21.
Boeing stated that no other issues were found with the spacecraft after an analysis of the May 6th data.
On Friday, NASA said Boeing was going to take more time before launch, thus the new target of May 25.
"The testing also indicated the rest of the thruster system is sealed effectively across the entire service module. Boeing teams are working to develop operational procedures to ensure the system retains sufficient performance capability and appropriate redundancy during the flight," NASA said.
For now, the astronauts will remain in quarantine at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The astronauts, Williams and Wilmore, will fly back to Cape Canaveral when the new launch date approaches.
Quelle: Florida Today