First manned Starliner mission slips to May
The first manned mission of Boeing’s Starliner capsule has now been delayed another few weeks, to early May, due to scheduling conflicts at ISS.
The delay was revealed as an aside in a NASA press release detailing the schedule of press briefings related to the mission. There appears to be no technical reasons for the delay. The quiet way NASA revealed it probably just indicates the agency’s embarrassment at Boeing’s overall problems with this spacecraft that have caused a four year delay in its first manned mission.
The flight will dock with ISS, last two weeks, and carry two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Its goal is to complete the final check out of Starliner prior to the initiation of operational missions. Once done, Boeing will not only begin to fly paid flights to ISS for NASA, it will be free to offer this capsule to others, including commercial tourists. Don’t expect customers to flock to buy seats, considering the many problems both Boeing and Starliner have had. Instead, it will likely take Boeing several years of NASA missions to reassure customers the spacecraft is reliable.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The first manned mission of Boeing’s Starliner capsule has now been delayed another few weeks, to early May, due to scheduling conflicts at ISS.
The delay was revealed as an aside in a NASA press release detailing the schedule of press briefings related to the mission. There appears to be no technical reasons for the delay. The quiet way NASA revealed it probably just indicates the agency’s embarrassment at Boeing’s overall problems with this spacecraft that have caused a four year delay in its first manned mission.
The flight will dock with ISS, last two weeks, and carry two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Its goal is to complete the final check out of Starliner prior to the initiation of operational missions. Once done, Boeing will not only begin to fly paid flights to ISS for NASA, it will be free to offer this capsule to others, including commercial tourists. Don’t expect customers to flock to buy seats, considering the many problems both Boeing and Starliner have had. Instead, it will likely take Boeing several years of NASA missions to reassure customers the spacecraft is reliable.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
“Don’t expect customers to flock to buy seats, considering the many problems both Boeing and Starliner have had.”
Yeah, having a door pop off in space is a tad more serious than at 16,000 feet.
Are the wheels coming off at Boeing?
(Sarcasm)
sippin_bourbon: I need to post about this. Everyone is laying into Boeing for these recent United incidents, but every single one really points to horrendous maintenance at United. Once Boeing delivers a plane the airplane is responsible to maintain it, and in these cases it seems to me that the failure is at United, not Boeing.
Remember, United is the company that went DEI crazy in 2020, and has been hiring solely on skin color since.
Well if you’re going to put the “B” team on anything, wheels and landing gear are better than engines and wings. Or cabin pressure and oxygen.
Note to self: don’t fly United and try to avoid United hubs.
I think it’s fair to still rail on Boeing too.
Of course United CEO Scott Kirby is on video performing as a drag queen. I have learned that the former CEO of Walmart, the ever toxic, Rosilind Brewer has recently joined the United Board of Directors. Brewer has poisoned multiple Fortune 500 companies as an executive or board member, including Lockheed Martin with her drive for DEI programs.
None of these things indicate that United Airlines has their eye on technical or operational factors.
The blown out door plug is Boeing’s fault. So far Boeing is doing a horrible job restoring confidence.
This is Boeing’s Bud Light moment.
“US official says Boeing hasn’t turned over records about work on the panel that blew off a jetliner”
“Boeing has refused to tell investigators who worked on the door plug that later blew off a jetliner during flight in January, the NTSB said.”
https://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/us-official-boeing-hasnt-turned-over-records-work-panel-blew-off-jetliner/281-98876292-f231-43fd-a9b0-750d34a35668
Not piling on, but…
https://www.aol.com/news/united-airlines-plane-diverted-l-192508715.html
As Robert suggests, “every single [incident] really points to horrendous maintenance at United.”
With all of the publicity about such lapses, it would seem to me that word would quickly enough get out — going viral, becoming a meme, and a punch line on late night TV — and even the dimmest executives at United would eventually understand that DEI isn’t working for them. Or not, and they will lose their customer base and run the company into the ground (getting huge bonuses all the while).
Milt—allow me to edit:
……and they will
losekill their customersbase andby running theircompanyairplanes into the ground.