Just five years ago there were less than two space launches a week. Last year that number was nearly four launches per week. Last week you needed a split screen to keep track of all the action in space.
It was a good week for Boeing and its Starliner and Elon Musk’s SpaceX company which, for the fourth time, launched the biggest rocket in the world. Both test flights accomplished a lot, but there were problems with both attempts.
First, Boeing finally got astronauts off the pad and to the International Space Station (ISS) with just a few hiccups. For the first time in more than 60 years it was an Atlas rocket that pushed the astronauts and their Starliner capsule into space.
(Credit: Boeing)
Boeing did not provide live pictures inside the capsule during the flight to the ISS. The videotape playback, after arriving at ISS, shows a couple of excited astronauts as they, “put some fire” in the rocket. “Oh my dear,” exclaimed mission commander Butch Wilmore. Pilot Suni Williams was excited, shouting out, “woo-hoo.”
THERE WERE PROBLEMS
It was far from a flawless flight. Launch was delayed because of a small helium leak in the capsule’s service module. Helium is used to pressurize the fuel tanks to push fuel into the engines for propulsion. NASA and Boeing spent a couple weeks on a workaround for the problem. That workaround was enough for NASA to give a “go for launch.” Once in orbit, the problem only got a bit bigger. There were now four helium leaks. NASA revealed after docking that the number is actually five leaks.
Those leaks are stopped by shutting the valves and saving helium. The crew will need that helium to pressurize the tanks when they pull away from ISS and later when they line up to reenter the atmosphere. Boeing and NASA believe they have the problem handled and can reenter the spacecraft. They will need a fix for future flights.
DOCKING DRAMA
Wilmore did get a bit more stick time than expected on Starliner. Docking with the ISS is supposed to be autonomous. But the vehicles’s computer was reporting that some of the thrusters weren’t working. Boeing later explained the thrusters were really just “unavailable.”
Starliner’s software detected something off with those small engines and alerted that four thrusters were down. Ground crews were able to test fire three of them. That was enough to control Starliner to allow docking. Wilmore docked the capsule manually. Expect a software change from Boeing.
The crew has been testing the vehicle in several modes at ISS. The next two tests are undocking and reentry/landing. Those are likely to happen in a little more than a week. NASA just extended the Starliner stay at ISS to allow for more and repeat testing. NASA has not been explicit about the reason for the extension. If Starliner completes these tasks it will be a lot closer to certification and joining SpaceX in ferrying crews regularly to ISS.
STARSHIP FOURTH TRY
While the drama with docking was going on last Friday, Elon Musk was preparing his Starship and Super Heavy booster to launch for the fourth time. This was the split screen moment of the week. Believe me, I was watching both feeds at the same time.
SpaceX’s fourth test launch of the Starship and Super Heavy booster from Texas. (Credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX’s method of work, as I’ve mentioned before, is fly, fail, fix, and fly again. The third Starship flight ended with both the booster and spaceship slamming into the ocean. Musk and his team were hoping to get a soft landing of both parts of the rocket and where they wanted them to land.
It was a spectacular launch. The massive rocket was seen flying by a drone as it climbed away from the launch pad. The Super Heavy booster did its job and then separated from Starship. It did relight its engines for what is called a “boost back burn.” This burn helps send the booster back to the Earth surface. Then there is a “landing burn.” Both burns occurred imperfectly and the booster seemed to hover vertically over the water before sinking into the waves. Cameras captured the moment.
SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster seen from two angles flipping to vertical and hovering over the ocean surface. Second angle is from a camera on a buoy. (Credit: SpaceX)
At the same time, Starship was coasting around the globe in a suborbital flight. Then came reentry and the fireworks. This was a test and SpaceX knew there would be problems. As the vehicle compressed the molecules in front of it, the heat started building up. Unlike Boeing, SpaceX provided live video feeds of all of this using the company’s constellation of satellites that are called Starlink.
HEAT SHIELDS
At maximum heating it was clear parts of the Starship were burning away. There were sparks zipping by the camera. What appeared to be a vortex of heat grew. It was hot plasma burning through one of the aerodynamic flaps. The camera was damaged. There was still enough visibility to see the Starship flip into the vertical position as it, too slipped into the water.
Starship flap being burned through during reentry. A seal between flap and the spacecraft did not perform. (Credit: SpaceX)
There is much still to be done by SpaceX on this reentry. Elon Musk told a YouTube contributor that it was a, “super successful day.” The FAA seems to agree and said no mishap investigation was necessary for the test flight. That means Musk can move quickly to the next attempt to solve some of the issues. He suggests the company may even try to catch the booster back at the launch site with the big arms attached to the tower.
The clock is ticking. NASA wants to use the Starship to put American astronauts back on the surface of the Moon. That was supposed to happen this year, but has been pushed back to 2026. There’s a lot to accomplish for SpaceX between now and then.
My sense is that more split screen days are ahead.