Will The Starliner Explode?

[Jaglavak]

You might be following the saga of the astronauts who only signed up for a three hour tour an eight day trip but have been stuck on the space station for eight weeks so far. After much thrashing and flailing, Boeing can't seem to get the problem fixed to the satisfaction of a justifiably skeptical NASA. So the revised plan is to have them up there for eight months and bring them home next February in a SpaceX capsule.

Now, this has got to be the sickest burn in the history of aerospace. Not only has Boeing been paid nearly twice as much as SpaceX, but they have completed zero crewed missions to SpaceX's nine. And now they have to hitch a ride home. But aside from that, Boeing's new plan is to bring down the Starliner empty under remote control. Which brings up the question. Will the return flight be a success? Or will it scatter across the hemisphere like red hot confetti? Place your bets, folks!

[JackieLikesVariety]

it's Boeing, so I voted splat.

[What Exit?]

The former Boeing CEO should face a lifetime in jail for all the malfeasance he has caused. A once pretty good company, brought so low by this asshole. How many deaths has he basically caused?

[Wolf Larsen]

The big question is do they lose any more thrusters. If not, re-entry should be fine. If they lose the wrong one(s) then attitude control will not be able to keep the heat shield facing the atmosphere, the craft will tumble and burn up.

My guess is the astronauts aren't as unhappy about this as some might thing. Rather than 8 days in space, they get 8 months. And I doubt there is anything an astronaut likes better than being in space.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

...

My guess is the astronauts aren't as unhappy about this as some might thing. Rather than 8 days in space, they get 8 months. And I doubt there is anything an astronaut likes better than being in space.

8 months is a long time. I've done a West-Pac where we were at Sea for 121 days straight and overall 6 months out of port. Makes you a little crazy and that is a far cry from the space station. Though I guess they can stay in touch with family much easier than we could.

They use to do 9 month West Pacs and I think those came back during COVID.

Plus bone density issues crop up with that amount of time, don't they? Muscle issues also. Hopefully they have the radiation shielding figured out.

[Wolf Larsen]

Not really much radiation shielding. They are well below the Van Allen belts so the background isn't too bad, but the cosmics come in, hit something in the station and blast a slew of secondaries through things. They don't have good statistics on how much it increases cancer risk but it does.

[Jaglavak]

They're both geezers, so their added risk is low.

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

The big question is do they lose any more thrusters. If not, re-entry should be fine. If they lose the wrong one(s) then attitude control will not be able to keep the heat shield facing the atmosphere, the craft will tumble and burn up.

Thrusters built by Boeing. Which tells us two things. Somewhere buried in those thruster is a coil spring that was specified as vim/var piano wire, but was actually horked out of an old bic lighter. And it was installed backwards by some poor schnook trotting alongside as the rocket was wheeled to the launch pad.

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

My guess is the astronauts aren't as unhappy about this as some might think. Rather than 8 days in space, they get 8 months. And I doubt there is anything an astronaut likes better than being in space.

I'm guessing they will be even less unhappy after the fireworks display.

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

... but was actually horked out of an old bic lighter.

Hey!!! Bic lighters are damn good. I've used them to start fires under extremely adverse conditions for decades.

Those arsons were "other kids".

[Random Precision]

I believe the Starliner will land without incident, but the astronauts are waiting for a ride on SpaceX because NASA is extremely risk averse and any chance of a problem on a test flight equals a scrub.

The ironic part is that the Starliner will land safely, but the SpaceX capsule that is scheduled to bring them home in February will explode on the launch pad.

[Pogo]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

How many deaths has he basically caused?

Umm... zero?

Calhoun took over in January 2020. Deaths by crash since then...

737-300, -400, or -500

• one with 62 deaths was a 1994 plane

737-600, -700, -800 or -900

• one shot down by the Islamic guard lots of deaths
• one slid on a runway, split and 3 dead, a 2009 plane
• one overshot a runway and 21 dead, a 2006 plane
• one that seems to have been pilot intention with 132 casualties, a 2015 plane

777

• one flight with turbulence, returned to the airport, one death due to heart attack, a 2008 plane

------

Despite those facts, I am glad he is gone and the secret McDonnell Douglas takeover of the reins of control might start to be undone.

[Jaglavak]

What color of contrails do you reckon the rubble will leave?

[Sputnik]

I think I read that those astronauts won’t be back until 2025. That’s going to be a lot of poop to store onboard a small craft not designed for it.

[C2H5OH]

They shove the shit out the airlock and let it de-orbit naturally.

[Sputnik]

Oh, a chapter out of the republican play book.

[picunurse]

I think there's a third option.
It will come home fine, but with no O2 inside.

[Jaglavak]

This week's plan is to bring the Starliner down on Monday September 9.

So... how big do you figure the crater will be?

[Sputnik]

This from NASA.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6. As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters. For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on Aug. 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the station and return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.


With nothing to do for 5 months, what could they possibly do?

[Jaglavak]

The replacement crew was supposed to be four astronauts. But now its going to be two new guys, with Wilmore and Williams taking over the duties of the other two. So they will have plenty of science and maintenance to do.

I bet that place has a sweat sock funk so gnarly its soaked right into the aluminum.

[Sputnik]

I’ll bet they are fighting over who has to eat the left over tuna casserole for the 8th night, and who gets to dine on the last packet of chicken parts.

[picunurse]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

The former Boeing CEO should face a lifetime in jail for all the malfeasance he has caused. A once pretty good company, brought so low by this asshole. How many deaths has he basically caused?

It actually started down hill when they merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. McDD was more oriented to money than building safe airplanes. They also put the well being of their employees way down the list.

Boeing once had the love and support of their employees and the entire PNW, but no more.

[BrickaBracka]

Originally Posted by picunurse

It actually started down hill when they merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. McDD was more oriented to money than building safe airplanes. They also put the well being of their employees way down the list.

Boeing once had the love and support of their employees and the entire PNW, but no more.

You can circle the drain of which event caused it - the root cause is this bullcrap "create value for shareholders" mentality that exists, alongside a lack of regulation to inhibit it.

Yes, there are often individual people who suck that can receive blame as a temporary cathartic distraction, but remove that specific person - it'll just be some other dickwagon who does the same thing. Until regulation inhibits bad behavior, and society's consensus adopts the new norm for behavior, and better cultural practices are backed up by commonly understood laws...this will continue happening.

Long story short, broken game, broken rules...there's no sense cheering for a good play on that play field. Nor is there much sense crying about bad plays on that play field.

Unfettered Capitalism sucks donkey balls.

[Rock]

The Starliner made a "Safe uneventful return under full control" last night, right here in New Mexico. No crater, no fireworks.

[Peeking Duck]

We watched it undock; I thought it was fascinating! Yay for its safe return.

[Rock]

I wanted to watch the landing live but I fell asleep in my chair last night and missed it.
First time that has ever happened.

[Jaglavak]

I totally plause that.