Boeing switches Starliner service modules for unmanned demo flight
According to a NASA press release today, Boeing has decided to swap Starliner service modules for the capsule’s first two missions, using the service module intended for the first manned flight on the unmanned demo flight, and assigning the service module for the unmanned demo flight — which had the valve issue — to the first manned flight.
The launch schedule for these two flights is now targeting May for the unmanned demo flight and August for the first manned Starliner demo mission.
Ongoing investigation efforts continue to validate the most probable cause to be related to oxidizer and moisture interactions. NASA and Boeing will continue the analysis and testing of the initial service module on which the issue was identified leading up to launch of the uncrewed OFT-2 mission in August 2021.
In other words, though they are claiming that they have figured out the sticky valve problem in that service module, it is also quite likely that it will not be used in August 2021. I suspect they will eventually put it aside and use another service module for the manned mission, and have only said now that they will use it on the manned mission for PR reasons. It appears they are confident the valve issue is solved for other service modules, but are not yet satisfied this troublesome service module is trustworthy.
The May-August schedule is tight, but doable, assuming the May unmanned flight goes well. If the August manned demo mission also goes well, Boeing will finally be able to begin selling seats on its Starliner capsule, though I would not be surprised if it makes no sales to anyone but NASA for the next few years. Considering its problem-filled development, private users are going to be reluctant to use this capsule until it establishes a successful track record.
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According to a NASA press release today, Boeing has decided to swap Starliner service modules for the capsule’s first two missions, using the service module intended for the first manned flight on the unmanned demo flight, and assigning the service module for the unmanned demo flight — which had the valve issue — to the first manned flight.
The launch schedule for these two flights is now targeting May for the unmanned demo flight and August for the first manned Starliner demo mission.
Ongoing investigation efforts continue to validate the most probable cause to be related to oxidizer and moisture interactions. NASA and Boeing will continue the analysis and testing of the initial service module on which the issue was identified leading up to launch of the uncrewed OFT-2 mission in August 2021.
In other words, though they are claiming that they have figured out the sticky valve problem in that service module, it is also quite likely that it will not be used in August 2021. I suspect they will eventually put it aside and use another service module for the manned mission, and have only said now that they will use it on the manned mission for PR reasons. It appears they are confident the valve issue is solved for other service modules, but are not yet satisfied this troublesome service module is trustworthy.
The May-August schedule is tight, but doable, assuming the May unmanned flight goes well. If the August manned demo mission also goes well, Boeing will finally be able to begin selling seats on its Starliner capsule, though I would not be surprised if it makes no sales to anyone but NASA for the next few years. Considering its problem-filled development, private users are going to be reluctant to use this capsule until it establishes a successful track record.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
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5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
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“will not be used in August 2022”, I think, unless Boeing are using tachyons now
They aren’t swapping. Rather, every flight is getting the service module from the flight next in line.
OFT-2 (this mission) is now getting the service module from CFT (first crewed mission). And CFT is getting the service module from Starliner-1 (first operational crewed mission).
Sounds like they are scrapping this problem service module (SM2). Or, as Boeing put it, “…continue longer term tests with SM2 hardware, on the vehicle and in offline facilities.”
Steve Golson: That’s not how I read the press release, and I read it twice. It appears for the moment they are swapping, or at least, they are selling that idea to hide the fact that, as you say, they are scrapping the service module.
Robert Zimmerman wrote: “That’s not how I read the press release, and I read it twice.”
The press release certainly is cryptic. They do not explain what happened to SM3, which we would expect to be the next in line. My suspicion is that there is a design problem that is already built into SM3, so they have to skip to SM4.
The plural in the title, “Boeing to Move Up Service Modules,” suggests to me that multiple modules are being shifted in their position. There remains a possibility that there could be a fix for SM2 and SM3, so maybe they are not headed to the scrap heap (i.e. Smithsonian display).
Either way, it seems that Boeing and NASA now have a better understanding of these standard valves. It is not clear whether this problem is unique to Boeing’s usage or if other designs where this valve is also used will be improved in future spacecraft.
So, they are giving the bad one for a manned flight.