Boeing’s Starliner capsule just tested a crucial safety system - The Verge

Today, Boeing tested a key system on its new passenger space capsule, the CST-100 Starliner, a major milestone that gets the company ready for the vehicle’s first flight to space. Today’s test fired up the emergency abort engines on the capsule, designed to carry the spacecraft to safety if there is some major issue during a future launch. The entire test lasted for just about 95 seconds.

For the last five years, Boeing has been developing the CST-100 Starliner to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The vehicle is meant to launch on top of an Atlas V rocket, manufactured by the United Launch Alliance, and carry up to seven crew members to orbit at at time. But before today, the Starliner had yet to actually see space — or see much air at all.

The #Starliner Pad Abort Test patch takes inspiration from the scenic New Mexico desert. It commemorates the most critical part of our mission: safety. The test today will ensure the abort system can quickly get the crew away from a potentially dangerous situation. pic.twitter.com/aWYB2DE8M2

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) November 4, 2019

In fact, today’s event was the vehicle’s first big test flight for Starliner. Boeing performed what is known as a pad abort test, which demonstrated Starliner’s ability to escape a dangerous situation during a launch. The spacecraft is equipped with four launch abort engines that can ignite if the rocket carrying the capsule starts to break apart on the launchpad or just after takeoff. These engines carry the spacecraft up and away from the malfunctioning rocket, before Starliner lands using parachutes. Boeing says that Starliner’s engines can kick into action either on the launchpad or during the ascent to space.

No actual rockets were involved with today’s test though, as all eyes were on the Starliner capsule. At the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Boeing ignited the Starliner’s launch abort engines on the ground, which carried the capsule up and away from its pad at Launch Complex 32 . The team suffered a setback when only two of Starliner’s three main parachutes deployed, but the two parachutes were enough to lower the spacecraft gently to the ground. A set of airbags also popped out underneath the vehicle to cushion its fall onto the desert floor.

Whether the failure of one of the three parachutes will affect future tests remains to be seen, but the fact that today’s test seemed mostly successful is a big win for Boeing, which has suffered some setbacks with its launch abort engines before. In June of 2018, some of the abort engines didn’t close properly during a test fire at White Sands, causing some propellant to leak out unexpectedly. The company says it has since made some design changes, which have fixed the problem. Boeing’s rival in the Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX also has been having issues with its own abort engines, which led to the explosion of the company’s own capsule, the Crew Dragon in April.

Boeing needed this test to go well in order to perform an even bigger flight in the months ahead: Starliner’s first uncrewed trip to the International Space Station. That launch is currently scheduled for December 17th, though it’s possible the date could change, as timelines for the Commercial Crew Program have changed plenty of times before. Once Boeing successfully demonstrates Starliner’s ability to travel to and from the station, then it can prepare for its biggest milestone — sending NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann, and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson to the International Space Station on Starliner’s first crewed test flight.

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https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/4/20936316/boeing-starliner-pad-abort-test-new-mexico-safety-test

2019-11-04 14:38:25Z
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