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SpaceX and other space stuff
- Thread starter bholder
- Start date
Since the return is unmanned, it wouldn't be tacky to say...
"Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!"
"Will the capsule return to earth to land safely on the ground at White Sands, New Mexico, or won't it?"
There are so many failure points (uncontrollable service module, capsule parachute failure, etc), that I left it as a binary question. Feel free to ponder at what point a failure may occur. Captain Obvious hopes it's not by recontacting the ISS.
I'm going with the capsule will make it safely to the ground. If I lose, I'll change my avatar.
"Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!"
"Will the capsule return to earth to land safely on the ground at White Sands, New Mexico, or won't it?"
There are so many failure points (uncontrollable service module, capsule parachute failure, etc), that I left it as a binary question. Feel free to ponder at what point a failure may occur. Captain Obvious hopes it's not by recontacting the ISS.
I'm going with the capsule will make it safely to the ground. If I lose, I'll change my avatar.
For me, this right here is why the sense of doom is so high with this one. When your biggest problem(s!) are with the thing that drives the very first movements of the thing away from the ISS and is supposed to then put it into a landing trajectory, it stacks the deck against success in a way that seems to depend on a ridiculous amount of luck to get right.
Taken as a whole, Boeing is way out of luck already. One can almost envision a baker getting ready to put the icing on the metaphorical cake.
But hey, we'll see.
Just wait. In all likelihood Boeing will still win the contract.For me, this right here is why the sense of doom is so high with this one. When your biggest problem(s!) are with the thing that drives the very first movements of the thing away from the ISS and is supposed to then put it into a landing trajectory, it stacks the deck against success in a way that seems to depend on a ridiculous amount of luck to get right.
Taken as a whole, Boeing is way out of luck already. One can almost envision a baker getting ready to put the icing on the metaphorical cake.
But hey, we'll see.
I am thinking the odds are at least 9 to1 it makes it back to earth safely. That said, the risk is still way too high for humans to be in the craft. Got to feel bad for the astronauts and their families who though they were on an eight day mission in the ISS and turns out to be eight months.
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Yeah, when you first hear of an extended deployment, the first reaction is "This blows bigtime!!". Usually followed by a seriously intense string of unprintable words LOL. Been there, but it wasn't as many months as these two astro's.
Both astro's are retired military, so they know that plans, missions, deployments, etc., can change on a whim. Ain't no use screamin', cryin', or feeling sorry for themselves, to change that reality. So, they just continue with their work. It's part of military mindset and culture.
If their spouses were with them during their military time, they understand also. The military understands it's a tough job being a military spouse, too. So there is support through resources and personnel available to the spouse if needed. I'm confident NASA shows the same regards for astronaut's spouses.
And the Starliner sonar noise has stopped. I'm guessing the aliens probing it determined Boeing's space offering wasn't worth their time. Or, it could be as NASA said.:
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Aside from the various memes, the only place I found news-related posts about this at the time it happened was in this thread, so for those inclined, a heads-up: The US Coast Guard hearing on the Titan submersible is on the books for Sept. 16:
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The hearing will be livestreamed:
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The hearing will be livestreamed:
As several commentards on the Ars 'strange speaker noise' article suggested running an 'ocean filter', I find the above note about the Coast Guard hearing to be...in alignment somehow. 
Finished the NASA news conference. Didn't sit thru the whole thing, but I heard good questions asked.
So for actual departure, very limited thruster use at first. Hooks will release as normal, springs will push Starliner ahead of the ISS. 90 seconds later, minimal thruster usage will increase altitude above the ISS. At higher altitude, it will start lagging farther behind the ISS. At some safe point, thrusters will then start being used normally to position the spacecraft into reentry position and posture. Once done, service module is released. Capsule returns safely to Earth and Bob's your uncle.
Well...sounds good on paper...
I hope it makes it safely down. My avatar's been giving me grief about the bet I made to change it if things go wrong. Mouthy, pastey-faced, son of a bi...biscuit eater...
Also found out oxygen (maybe other consumables) is being transferred from Starliner to the ISS. Makes sense, since it's fated to be an empty can.
So for actual departure, very limited thruster use at first. Hooks will release as normal, springs will push Starliner ahead of the ISS. 90 seconds later, minimal thruster usage will increase altitude above the ISS. At higher altitude, it will start lagging farther behind the ISS. At some safe point, thrusters will then start being used normally to position the spacecraft into reentry position and posture. Once done, service module is released. Capsule returns safely to Earth and Bob's your uncle.
Well...sounds good on paper...
I hope it makes it safely down. My avatar's been giving me grief about the bet I made to change it if things go wrong. Mouthy, pastey-faced, son of a bi...biscuit eater...
Also found out oxygen (maybe other consumables) is being transferred from Starliner to the ISS. Makes sense, since it's fated to be an empty can.
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Found this over in the NASA forum. Not important, just thought it was interesting about what happens after the capsule lands. Copy and paste, baby, copy and paste
...At touchdown, the spacecraft is traveling at approximately 4 mph.
The NASA and Boeing landing and recovery team is stationed at a holding zone near Starliner’s intended landing site. After landing, a series of five teams move in toward the spacecraft in a sequential order.
The first team to approach the spacecraft is the gold team, using equipment that “sniffs” the capsule for any hypergolic fuels that didn’t fully burn off before re-entry. They also cover the spacecraft’s thrusters. Once given the all-clear, the silver team moves in. This team electrically grounds and stabilizes Starliner before the green team approaches, supplying power and cooling to the crew module since the spacecraft is powered down.
The blue team follows, documenting the recovery for public dissemination and future process review. The red team, which includes Boeing fire rescue, emergency medical technicians, and human factors engineers, then proceed to Starliner, opening the hatch.
The landing and recovery team begins unloading time-critical cargo from Starliner. The spacecraft is then transferred to Boeing facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for refurbishment ahead of its next flight.
...At touchdown, the spacecraft is traveling at approximately 4 mph.
The NASA and Boeing landing and recovery team is stationed at a holding zone near Starliner’s intended landing site. After landing, a series of five teams move in toward the spacecraft in a sequential order.
The first team to approach the spacecraft is the gold team, using equipment that “sniffs” the capsule for any hypergolic fuels that didn’t fully burn off before re-entry. They also cover the spacecraft’s thrusters. Once given the all-clear, the silver team moves in. This team electrically grounds and stabilizes Starliner before the green team approaches, supplying power and cooling to the crew module since the spacecraft is powered down.
The blue team follows, documenting the recovery for public dissemination and future process review. The red team, which includes Boeing fire rescue, emergency medical technicians, and human factors engineers, then proceed to Starliner, opening the hatch.
The landing and recovery team begins unloading time-critical cargo from Starliner. The spacecraft is then transferred to Boeing facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for refurbishment ahead of its next flight.
hadn't noticed that movie used the Iron Maiden font.
I'm half expecting the capsule to punch a hole in the Kremlin, and international incident ensue.
Well, Provider 3 lost the bet. Come collect your quatloos. And congrats to Boeing/NASA for getting part of this mission right. Now where do I get my tax dollar refund for the rest of it? I hope they're not gonna pay that off by giving everyone a 737 Max.
