Starliner хөлгийн техникийн асуудлуудыг шийдвэрлэх ажил дуусах шатанд орж, NASA-тай хамтран ачаа тээвэрлэх болон дараагийн нисгэгчтэй туршилтын нислэгийн бэлтгэлдээ оржээ.
Boeing компанийн гүйцэтгэх захирал Кэлли Ортбергийн мэдэгдснээр, Starliner хөлгийн техникийн доголдолтой холбоотой ихэнх засвар, сайжруулалтын ажил дуусчээ. Тус компани одоо NASA-тай хамтран Олон улсын сансрын станц (ISS) руу ачаа тээвэрлэх нислэгийн хугацааг товлохоор ажиллаж байна. Энэ нь 2027 оны сүүлээр төлөвлөгдөж буй нисгэгчтэй туршилтын нислэгийг хэрэгжүүлэхэд чухал алхам болно.
2024 оны есдүгээр сард Starliner хөлөг Олон улсын сансрын станцаас нисгэгчгүйгээр эргэн ирснээс хойш Boeing компани хөлгийн хөдөлгүүрийн доголдол болон гелийн хийн алдагдлыг арилгахаар ажилласан юм. Өмнөх туршилтын үеэр хөлгийн таван хөдөлгүүр ажиллагаагүй болж, сансрын нисгэгчид Буч Уилмор, Сунни Уильямс нар гарын удирдлагаар жолоодох шаардлага гарч байв. Түүнчлэн хөлгөөс гелийн хийн таван алдагдал илэрсний нэг нь хөөргөхөөс өмнө бүртгэгдсэн байжээ.
NASA анх Starliner хөлгийн анхны үйл ажиллагааны нислэгийг 2025 оны эхээр хэрэгжүүлэхээр төлөвлөж байсан ч техникийн олон удаагийн саатлын улмаас Boeing компанитай хийсэн гэрээгээ өөрчилж, нислэгийн тоог зургаагаас дөрөв болгон цөөлсөн байна. Boeing компани сансрын хөтөлбөрийн хүрээнд 4.3 тэрбум ам.долларын гэрээ байгуулсан ч төслийн явцад 2 тэрбум орчим ам.долларын алдагдал хүлээгээд байгаа юм.
Одоогоор Boeing компани сансрын станц дээрх залгах портын сулрахыг хүлээж байгаа бөгөөд боломж гарвал энэ онд багтаан ачаа тээврийн нислэгийг хийхээр төлөвлөж байна. NASA энэхүү туршилтыг “А” зэрэглэлийн доголдол гэж үзсэн ч арилжааны түншдээ дахин боломж олгохоор ажиллаж байгаа ажээ.
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It’s been two years since Starliner’s first crewed test flight fell apart in shambles, leaving a crew of two astronauts stranded in space. Now, Boeing seems hopeful that its troubled spacecraft is ready to fly once again.
During a quarterly earnings call this week, Boeing’s Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg suggested that most of the work being done to troubleshoot Starliner’s technical issues is complete, Ars Technica reported. Boeing is working with NASA to coordinate an upcoming launch date for Starliner to carry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), which would pave the way for another crewed test flight to possibly take place in late 2027.
“We’ve got to work with NASA to align on the launches,” Ortberg said during the call. “I don’t at this time anticipate that’s going to create a cost problem for us, but we do have some uncertainty here that we’ve got to work with NASA to get that put to bed, and we are working with them right now.”
The Starliner saga
Boeing has been working on fixing Starliner’s technical issues since thespacecraft returned uncrewed in September 2024. Five of the spacecraft’s thrustersfailed during its rendezvous with the ISS, forcing NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams to perform manual piloting. Starliner also developedfive helium leaks, one of which had been identified prior to its launch.
Earlier this year, NASA officials said thatteams have made great progresstoward fixing the helium leaks and testing the thrusters that malfunctioned during Starliner’s last mission. At the time, NASA was hopeful that Starliner would return to flight in April for an uncrewed mission. That didn’t happen.
Later in June, NASA seemed less optimistic about Starliner’s return to flight, with space agency officials stating that the upcoming crewed mission would take place in the next year or so.
The recent statements from Boeing, however, paint a different picture. “The redesign of the Starliner deficiencies is going quite well, and we’re feeling pretty good about that,” Ortberg said, according to Ars Technica.
Ortberg went on to suggest that while most of the work is complete, the company is waiting for an open docking port to become available on the ISS so that Starliner can make its way to the space station. Should there be a free docking port, Starliner could launch later this year on a cargo mission.
Not giving up just yet
NASA had originally hoped that Starliner would launch its first operational mission by early 2025. Following the spacecraft’s major fumble, the agency revised its commercial crew contract with Boeingand reduced the number of Starliner missions to four instead of six.
If Boeing doesn’t get to launch its Starliner spacecraft soon, it puts the company at further risk of not being able to fulfill its end of the$4.3 billion deal with NASA. Boeing has already lost around $2 billion in cost overruns from the Starliner Commercial Crew Program.
Boeing retains full ownership of the Starliner spacecraft while NASA acts as a customer. As the Starliner saga began to unfold, Boeing began exploring the option of selling some parts of its space business, including the Starliner spacecraft. To date, no sale has been closed.
For its part, NASA has classified the test flight as a Type A mishap, stating that the agency’s overarching goal of having multiple crew transport systems influenced engineering and operational decisions during the mission. Still, NASA seems to be willing to give its commercial partner another chance. Hopefully Boeing gets it right this time.
