arstechnica ,
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

NASA and Boeing are getting comfortable launching Starliner with a known leak

Fixing the helium leak would likely delay the Starliner crew test flight several months.

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/05/nasa-and-boeing-are-getting-comfortable-launching-starliner-with-a-known-leak/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

hudsoch ,
@hudsoch@ohai.social avatar

@arstechnica Boeing = suicide mission?

RealGene ,
@RealGene@hachyderm.io avatar

@arstechnica
"After some initial troubleshooting, the leak rate grew to approximately 70 psi per minute."

WHAT?

This seems to be deliberate obscurity.
If the /pressure/ drops by 70 psi per minute, how high is the initial pressure?
What is the VOLUME of helium lost?
How much is that of the total amount of helium aboard?

neffo ,
@neffo@mas.to avatar

@arstechnica
flying with a hydrogen leak may kill people, but it also helps people get to orbit on time, so, it;s impossible to say if its bad or not,

jovikowi ,
@jovikowi@spacey.space avatar

@arstechnica

IMHO, NASA should:

  1. Insist on making this flight uncrewed, and pay for it since it is their decision. If things go well--which is unlikely, given all of the problems in both OFT-1 and 2--great. If not, lives saved.

  2. Review their multi-layer review process that let 2 critical software bugs slip through to OFT-1, and now has let major hardware issues slip through to this flight. Something is deeply wrong with the Boeing / NASA review process, and it needs to be fixed.

CarlG ,
@CarlG@esq.social avatar

@arstechnica So did the class of astronauts draw straws and the Starliner ones drew the shirt ones while the lucky ones got SpaceX?

tomhamby ,
@tomhamby@mas.to avatar

@arstechnica We know Boeing doesn’t give a shit , but NASA , come on now.

ampersine ,
@ampersine@mastodon.online avatar

@arstechnica

Seems legit. I mean, helium is lighter than air, so technically it can’t “fall off”

ukuku ,
@ukuku@mstdn.social avatar

@arstechnica sure, why the hell not? What’s the worst that can happen? Boeing is one big accident away from bankruptcy.

jasohill ,
@jasohill@famichiki.jp avatar

@arstechnica What could possibly go wrong? Hmm.

samhainnight ,
@samhainnight@mstdn.social avatar

@arstechnica remembers the Challenger and thinks about Boeing's current track record

Howsabout we delay the launch, fix the problem, and not risk an avoidable tragedy?

jawarajabbi ,
@jawarajabbi@mastodon.online avatar

@arstechnica

What will happen next? (We know what happens next.)

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