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<\/div>Catastrophic Failure<\/h2>
According to a NASA safety review panel, Boeing’s first uncrewed flight test of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft in December nearly ended in a “catastrophic failure” — another blow that could delay its plan to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil.<\/p>
“The panel has a larger concern with the rigor of Boeing’s verification processes,” said Paul Hill, a former NASA flight director who serves on the safety review panel that found the new problems, according to <\/a>Reuters<\/a>.<\/em><\/p> The Starliner had already ended in the wrong orbit during its December maiden voyage, failing to reach the ISS as a result of an unrelated software glitch.<\/p> This second glitch, referred to as “a valve mapping software issue” in a Boeing statement<\/a>, could have led to the wrong thrusters firing upon re-entry, which “could have led to risk of spacecraft loss” according to NASA<\/a>.<\/p> NASA has yet to decide if it wants to demand Boeing repeat an uncrewed test flight to the ISS, according to Reuters<\/em>, or go ahead with its first crewed test flight with astronauts Nicole Mann, Chris Ferguson, and Mike Fincke on board.<\/p> According to NASA’s statement, investigators are still figuring out why the glitch occurred, but have “made excellent progress for this stage of the investigation.”<\/p> READ MORE: <\/strong>Boeing’s botched Starliner test flirted with ‘catastrophic’ failure: NASA panel<\/a> [Reuters<\/em>]<\/p> More on Starliner:<\/strong> Astronauts “Can’t Wait” to Try out Starliner Despite ISS Failure<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p> The post NASA: Boeing Starliner Test Nearly Ended in “Catastrophic Failure”<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Read this article: Catastrophic Failure According to a NASA safety review panel, Boeing\u2019s first uncrewed flight test of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft in December nearly ended in a \u201ccatastrophic failure\u201d \u2014 another blow that could delay its plan to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil. \u201cThe panel has a larger concern with the rigor of Boeing\u2019s verification processes,\u201d said Paul Hill, a former NASA flight director who serves on the safety review panel that found the new problems, according to Reuters . Glitch Plural The Starliner had already ended in the wrong orbit during its December maiden voyage, failing to reach the ISS as a result of an unrelated software glitch. Continue reading Glitch Plural<\/h2>
Moving Forward<\/h2>
NASA: Boeing Starliner Test Nearly Ended in “Catastrophic Failure”<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"