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posted by martyb on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:09PM   Printer-friendly

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

SpaceX's new astronaut taxi won't make its inaugural trip to the International Space Station (ISS) this month after all.

SpaceX and Boeing are developing commercial space capsules — called Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner, respectively — to carry NASA astronauts to and from the orbiting lab.

SpaceX had been targeting Feb. 23 for Crew Dragon's shakeout cruise to the ISS, an uncrewed flight called Demo-1. Starliner was scheduled to perform a similar mission in March. But launch dates for both flights have just been pushed to the right, NASA announced today (Feb. 6). [Crew Dragon and Starliner: A Look at the Upcoming Astronaut Taxis]

"The agency now is targeting March 2 for launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon on its uncrewed Demo-1 test flight. Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is targeted for launch no earlier than April," NASA officials wrote in the status update.

Source: https://www.space.com/43250-spacex-boeing-commercial-crew-test-launches-delayed.html


Original Submission

Related Stories

NASA Prepared to Purchase Two More Soyuz Seats From Roscosmos 2 comments

Due to delays and potential delays in launching crew to the International Space Station (ISS) using American-made spacecraft, NASA is prepared to purchase two more seats to the ISS from Russia's Roscosmos:

Despite the scheduled return of US domestic crew launch capability this year, NASA is set to purchase more rides on the Russian Soyuz through 2020. The agency is adhering to a recommendation from its Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) after concerns were raised about the lack of a back-up option covering the potential delays that could be suffered during a challenging test flight phase for Dragon 2 and Starliner.

[...] "Past experience has shown the difficulties associated with achieving first flights on time in the final year of development. Typically, problems will be discovered during these test flights. The consequences of no US crew on ISS warrant protection by acquiring additional seats. The absence of U.S. crewmembers at any point would diminish ISS operations to an inoperable state," noted a procurement document published on February 13. "NASA is considering contracting with the State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" for these services on a sole source basis for two (2) Soyuz seats and associated services to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft vehicle. This transportation would be for one crewmember in the Fall of 2019 and one crewmember in the Spring of 2020."

The two seats in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 seem to be in reference to the Soyuz MS-15 and MS-16 flights. Soyuz MS-15 currently has its third seat occupied by a paying spaceflight participant – who will now likely be bumped to accommodate a permanent US Station crewmember – and Soyuz MS-16 is a schedule two-person flight with a vacant third seat available.

While the action does not point to an increase in uncertainty over the progress being made by Commercial Crew providers, it does cite the wish to avoid placing schedule pressure on the companies, an issue that still haunts NASA after it was determined to have played a direct role in the loss of Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

Also at Space News and Ars Technica.

Previously: Boeing Crewed Test Flight to the ISS May be Upgraded to a Full Mission
SpaceX and Boeing Not Ready to Transport Astronauts to the International Space Station
SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships

Related: NASA Confident in Soyuz, Ready for Crewed Launch in December


Original Submission

Unmanned Crew Dragon 2 Docks With ISS 11 comments

Crew Dragon successfully conducts debut docking with the ISS

Following a successful launch early Saturday morning, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft has successfully conducted a rendezvous and docking to the International Space Station for the first time. Docking was ahead of schedule at 5:51 AM EST (10:51 UTC) on Sunday, March 3.

[...] Dragon 2 was the first SpaceX vehicle to attempt an autonomous docking in orbit. Dragon 1, which has been flying cargo resupply missions to the ISS since 2012, only maneuvered close enough to be grappled by the station's robotic arm, which then moved the spacecraft into position to be berthed. Dragon 2, on the other hand, will not utilize the robotic arm, but rather use the onboard Draco thrusters to dock with the station. During a crewed mission, astronauts aboard the spacecraft will have the capability to intervene and fly the vehicle manually, if needed.

Crew Dragon docked to the forward port of the space station's Harmony module, which has been fitted with an International Docking Adaptor (IDA). The IDA was launched aboard Dragon 1 on the SpaceX CRS-9 mission. Crew currently aboard the ISS completed a checkout of the docking port in advance of Saturday's launch, and verified the docking system was "go" for docking.

[...] A single action item concerning Dragon's approach to the station was identified during the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) conducted before launch. A concern over Dragon's docking abort procedures was raised by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, one of NASA's international partners in the ISS program. While a scenario in which this issue would arise is unlikely, NASA and Roscosmos agreed to additional procedures to follow should Dragon encounter a problem during the rendezvous. No issues were suffered during the test objectives.

Previously: SpaceX Conducts Static Fire Test, Unmanned Crew Dragon Test Expected No Earlier Than February 23
SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships
SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Gets NASA Thumbs-Up for March Test Flight
SpaceX Set to Launch Critical Dragon Demonstration Mission Tonight (Mar. 2 @ 07:49 UTC; 2:49 AM EST)


Original Submission

Reuters: Boeing Starliner Flights to the ISS Delayed by at Least Another 3 Months 13 comments

Boeing delays by months test flights for U.S. human space program: sources

Boeing Co has delayed by at least three months its first uncrewed flight to the International Space Station under NASA's human spaceflight program, and pushed its crewed flight until November, industry sources said on Wednesday.

Reuters reported last month that NASA has warned Boeing and rival contractor SpaceX of design and safety concerns the companies need to address before flying humans to space.

Boeing's first test flight was slated for April but it has been pushed to August, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The new schedule means that Boeing's crewed mission, initially scheduled for August, will be delayed until November.

Also at Spaceflight Insider, Astronomy Magazine, and BGR.

Related:


Original Submission

Boeing Hit With 61 Safety Fixes for Astronaut Capsule 11 comments

Boeing hit with 61 safety fixes for astronaut capsule:

In releasing the outcome of a joint investigation, NASA said it still has not decided whether to require Boeing to launch the Starliner again without a crew, or go straight to putting astronauts on board.

Douglas Loverro, NASA's human exploration and operation chief, told reporters that Boeing must first present a plan and schedule for the 61 corrective actions. Boeing expects to have a plan in NASA's hands by the end of this month.

Loverro said the space agency wants to verify, among other things, that Boeing has retested all the necessary software for Starliner.

"At the end of the day, what we have got to decide is ... do we have enough confidence to say we are ready to fly with a crew or do we believe that we need another uncrewed testing," Loverro said.

Boeing's Jim Chilton, a senior vice president, said his company is ready to repeat a test flight without a crew, if NASA decides on one.

"'All of us want crew safety No. 1," Chilton said. "Whatever testing we've got to do to make that happen, we embrace it."

Loverro said he felt compelled to designate the test flight as a "high-visibility close call." He said that involves more scrutiny of Boeing and NASA to make sure mistakes like this don't happen again.

Software errors not only left the Starliner in the wrong orbit following liftoff and precluded a visit to the International Space Station but they could have caused a collision between the capsule and its separated service module toward the end of the two-day flight. That error was caught and corrected by ground controllers just hours before touchdown.

Citation: Boeing hit with 61 safety fixes for astronaut capsule (2020, March 6) retrieved 6 March 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-03-boeing-safety-astronaut-capsule.html

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:33PM (5 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:33PM (#797978) Journal

    What is that, a 1 week delay? It was expected due to the govt shutdown.

    https://spacenews.com/commercial-crew-test-flight-schedule-slips-again/ [spacenews.com]

    Delay was known about since last week due to some FCC paperwork:

    https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/spacex-demo-flight-1-slips-to-net-march/ [spaceflightinsider.com]

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    • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:46PM (4 children)

      by Sulla (5173) on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:46PM (#797983) Journal

      BUT SPACE MAN BAD!!!

      People really want to stick it to spacex

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      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:48PM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday February 07 2019, @09:48PM (#797986) Journal

        Well, it would be pretty disappointing if Boeing beat SpaceX with a manned launch to the ISS.

        On the other hand, it would be very disappointing if any of the astronauts died.

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        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday February 07 2019, @10:05PM

          by bob_super (1357) on Thursday February 07 2019, @10:05PM (#797996)

          It feels good if SpaceX is first ... But they were not first to launch rockets in the first place, and that didn't prevent them from obsoleting the competition.

          "Sure, Boeing go there a month before us. But we got there too, and after NASA checked thoroughly the performance and the price, they're awarding us 90% of the flights" would be a satisfying outcome.

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday February 07 2019, @10:21PM (1 child)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 07 2019, @10:21PM (#798008) Journal

        People really want to stick it to spacex

        SpaceX doesn't grease all the right palms, because it has cheaper space fright as a goal.

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        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
        • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday February 07 2019, @11:53PM

          by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Thursday February 07 2019, @11:53PM (#798069) Journal

          I think that it's more that some people are really irritated with Musk. But you hypothesis is also reasonable.

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