Aerospace and Defense

End of the Line

Boeing’s, and NASA’s Dilemma With Starliner 

While two astronauts are stuck on the international space station, engineering and politics complicate the solution to their return.

v

There is plenty of talk in the mainstream media about the technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, but the real engineering issue is not rooted in pressure vessels, valves or lines. It’s management.

Starliner has launched previously to the international Space Station uncrewed, so the capability for fully autonomous flight exists at Boeing. The current flight was configured for human piloting, so the obvious option for Williams and Wilmore, which is to bring them back with a SpaceX capsule, may become necessary if NASA and Boeing can’t reconfigure Starliner to work around the thruster issues.

The zero risk option? Fly the astronauts back by SpaceX, then fly Starliner back empty, fix the issues, and launch it again. If Starliner returns unharmed, the decision will look like an abundance of caution, but all concerned will come out looking good.


* * *
Access all episodes of End of the Line on Engineering TV along with all of our other series.

Written by

James Anderton

Jim Anderton is the Director of Content for ENGINEERING.com. Mr. Anderton was formerly editor of Canadian Metalworking Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of print and on-line publications, including Design Engineering, Canadian Plastics, Service Station and Garage Management, Autovision, and the National Post. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and part design for a Tier One automotive supplier.