{"id":17844,"date":"2019-12-22T21:28:24","date_gmt":"2019-12-22T13:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/boeings-starliner-space-taxi-makes-flawless-landing-after-flawed-flight\/"},"modified":"2019-12-22T21:28:24","modified_gmt":"2019-12-22T13:28:24","slug":"boeings-starliner-space-taxi-makes-flawless-landing-after-flawed-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/boeings-starliner-space-taxi-makes-flawless-landing-after-flawed-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Boeing\u2019s Starliner space taxi makes flawless landing after flawed flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Boeing, NASA, and U.S. Army personnel put a protective cover over Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft shortly after its landing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. (NASA Photo \/ Bill Ingalls)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner space taxi made a flawless automated landing in New Mexico today, marking the end of an orbital test flight that was cut short due to a glitch with the craft\u2019s timing system.<\/p>\n

Because of the glitch, NASA and Boeing had to forgo Starliner\u2019s planned trip to the International Space Station. But the uncrewed transport notched a first in space history nevertheless by becoming the first crew-capable U.S. space capsule to make its return from orbit on land.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft also got its christening from NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who is scheduled to fly on the craft after its refurbishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little homage to other explorers and the ships that they rode on,\u201d Williams said during a NASA webcast. \u201cI think we\u2019re going to call her Calypso.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name paid tribute to the ship that served as the base of operations for ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. \u201cThere\u2019s so much to discover in the ocean, and there\u2019s so much to discover in space. It just seemed like a natural marriage,\u201d said Williams, who was once a Navy diving officer.<\/p>\n

No issues were reported during Calypso\u2019s descent from orbit \u2014 which involved slowing the spacecraft down from a velocity 25 times the speed of sound, and weathering temperatures as high as 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n

All three main parachutes opened successfully, which was an improvement on the parachutes\u2019 performance during last month\u2019s pad abort test.<\/p>\n

The climax came just before sunrise at 5:58 a.m. MT (4:58 a.m. PT) with Calypso\u2019s parachute-assisted, airbag-cushioned landing at White Sands Missile Range.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an absolute bull\u2019s-eye,\u201d NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.<\/p>\n

The trouble-free touchdown for the Orbital Flight Test buoyed confidence for an follow-on mission known as the Crewed Flight Test, which would send Boeing test pilot Chris Ferguson and NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann to the space station and back.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like it\u2019s going to be a smooth ride for CFT, judging by how softly and smoothly this OFT vehicle came down this morning,\u201d Richard Jones, NASA flight director at Mission Control in Houston, was quoted as saying on the webcast.<\/p>\n

The crew members for that future flight were on hand in New Mexico to check out Starliner after the landing. \u201cThree parachutes, six airbags and a beautiful soft landing,\u201d Fincke said. \u201cCan\u2019t wait to try it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft jettisons the heat shield before its landing at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. (NASA Photo \/ Aubrey Gemignani)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many of the flight test\u2019s objectives were met, including establishing links with the space station and extending the Starliner craft\u2019s docking mechanism. \u201cWe got some objectives done,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

But because Calypso wasn\u2019t able to hook up with the space station, none of the objectives relating to an actual docking could be checked off.<\/p>\n

NASA and Boeing will have to review the data from the flight \u2014 including readings from the sensors attached to a test dummy nicknamed Rosie the Rocketeer \u2014 and then decide what steps need to be taken before the crewed test flight.<\/p>\n

Jim Chilton, senior vice president of the space and launch division for Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said that \u201cthe vessel looks great,\u201d and that Rosie the Rocketeer \u201clived in air-conditioned splendor for the last couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n

He estimated that 85 to 90 percent of the flight test\u2019s objectives would end up being met. But he said assessing the post-flight data would probably take the team \u201cdeep into January.\u201d<\/p>\n

One priority will be to trace the root cause of the timing system glitch, which spoiled Calypso\u2019s ascent to orbit about a half-hour after Friday\u2019s launch from Florida.<\/p>\n

Mission managers said the craft\u2019s software used an incorrect time stamp for a sequence of automated maneuvers during ascent. The time stamp, which Boeing\u2019s Chilton said was 11 hours off, was pulled out of data stored on the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Engineers were still trying to figure out what went wrong.<\/p>\n

The glitch caused Calypso to miss out on firing its maneuvering engines for a key orbital insertion burn. Instead, it repeatedly fired the smaller thrusters in its reaction control system.<\/p>\n

After some communication snags, ground controllers were able to upload corrected instructions and get the spacecraft into a stable, albeit lower, orbit. But by that time, so much fuel had been expended that NASA and Boeing decided they couldn\u2019t risk a space station rendezvous.<\/p>\n