{"id":17895,"date":"2019-11-04T21:38:26","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T13:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-is-thrilled-with-pad-abort-test-for-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-despite-parachute-glitch\/"},"modified":"2019-11-04T21:38:26","modified_gmt":"2019-11-04T13:38:26","slug":"nasa-is-thrilled-with-pad-abort-test-for-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-despite-parachute-glitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-is-thrilled-with-pad-abort-test-for-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-despite-parachute-glitch\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA is \u2018thrilled\u2019 with pad abort test for Boeing\u2019s Starliner space taxi despite parachute glitch"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_530832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-530832\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-530832\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/191104-starliner-630x393.jpg\" alt=\"Starliner abort test\" width=\"630\" height=\"393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/191104-starliner-630x393.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/191104-starliner-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/191104-starliner-1260x787.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/191104-starliner.jpg 1678w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-530832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two parachutes ease the descent of the Boeing-built CST-100 Starliner space taxi during an uncrewed pad abort test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Boeing cleared a key milestone for launching NASA astronauts on its CST-100 Starliner space taxi today by executing an end-to-end test of its rocket-powered launch abort system \u2014 a test that did what it needed to do even though one of the craft\u2019s three parachutes didn\u2019t open.<\/p>\n<p>Data from the pad abort test at the U.S. Army\u2019s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico will be fully analyzed in advance of an uncrewed Starliner mission to the International Space Station and back, currently scheduled for a Dec. 17 launch, Boeing and NASA said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTests like this one are crucial to help us make sure the systems are as safe as possible,\u201d Kathy Lueders, NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in a news release. \u201cWe are thrilled with the preliminary results, and now we have the job of really digging into the data and analyzing whether everything worked as we expected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Starliner\u2019s four launch abort engines and attitude control thrusters ignited simultaneously to blast the spacecraft away from its test stand. The craft rose as high as 4,500 feet, then deployed its parachutes, jettisoned its service module and a heat shield, inflated a set of cushioning airbags, and touched down in the desert 95 seconds after blastoff.<\/p>\n<p>Only two of the Starliner\u2019s three parachutes opened, but NASA and Boeing said that performance was acceptable for the test parameters and for crew safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe did have a deployment anomaly, not a parachute failure,\u201d Boeing said in a statement issued after the test. \u201cIt\u2019s too early to determine why all three main parachutes did not deploy.\u201d (One expert observer, Scott Manley, tweeted that one of the drogue chutes apparently detached instead of pulling out its main chute.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Boeing Starliner Pad Abort Test\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/acOFK3Bsj58?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Boeing said it would review the parachute deployment sequence but didn\u2019t expect any impact on the Dec. 17 launch date.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmergency scenario testing is very complex, and today our team validated that the spacecraft will keep our crew safe in the unlikely event of an abort,\u201d said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for Boeing\u2019s Commercial Crew Program. \u201cOur teams across the program have made remarkable progress to get us to this point, and we are fully focused on the next challenge \u2014 Starliner\u2019s uncrewed flight to demonstrate Boeing\u2019s capability to safely fly crew to and from the space station.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The launch abort system is designed to be triggered if an emergency arises while the Starliner is sitting atop its Atlas 5 rocket on the launch pad, or during the early stages of its ascent.<\/p>\n<p>The abort engines, built for Boeing by Aerojet Rocketdyne, would blast the crew away from danger and send them toward a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. For today\u2019s test, an instrument-laden dummy filled one of the Starliner\u2019s seats.<\/p>\n<p>During a normal mission, the Starliner would touch down on land, at the end of its parachutes with its airbags providing an extra cushion.<\/p>\n<p>High-performance parachutes are among the trickiest safety elements for Boeing\u2019s Starliner as well as for SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon, the other commercial space taxi that\u2019s being developed for station-bound astronauts.<\/p>\n<p>After working through a series of challenges, SpaceX reported over the weekend that the Crew Dragon\u2019s upgraded parachute has been successfully tested in single-chute mode 13 times in a row \u2014 getting the company closer to fulfilling a key requirement for the first crewed test flight. For what it\u2019s worth, SpaceX conducted a successful pad abort test in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Like Boeing, SpaceX is aiming to fly its first crew to the International Space Station early next year. The next item on SpaceX\u2019s list for Crew Dragon development is an uncrewed in-flight abort test, which is expected to take place by the end of this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Update for 2:02 p.m. PT Nov. 4:<\/strong> This report has been tweaked to describe the situation surrounding SpaceX\u2019s parachutes more clearly, in light of a clarifying tweet from CEO Elon Musk:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1191475073758064640&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2019%2Fnasa-thrilled-pad-abort-test-boeings-starliner-space-taxi-despite-parachute-glitch%2F&amp;sessionId=9955bb6422ad0ea991646d623b1da943dead5bfa&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1191475073758064640\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782799937169322137=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Great work by SpaceX Dragon team &amp; Airborne! To be clear, we\u2019ve only done 1 multi-parachute test of Mk3 design, so 9 more left to reach 10 successful tests in a row. https:\/\/t.co\/Q814zVoW4S<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two parachutes ease the descent of the Boeing-built CST-100 Starliner space taxi during an uncrewed pad abort test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. (NASA via YouTube) Boeing cleared a key milestone for launching NASA astronauts on its CST-100 Starliner space taxi today by executing an end-to-end test of its rocket-powered launch abort [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[670,291,717,190,1306,3952],"class_list":["post-17895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-boeing","tag-commercial-space","tag-international-space-station","tag-nasa","tag-starliner","tag-white-sands"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}