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Subj: Starlinerâ€Ös Wild Ride
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For the first time since they returned to Earth on a Crew Dragon vehicle
several weeks ago, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams,
KD5PLB, participated in a news conference on Monday, March 31, at Johnson
Space Center in Houston. Afterward, they spent hours conducting short,
10-minute interviews with reporters from around the world, describing their
mission to test Boeingâ€Ös Starliner spacecraft on the vehicleâ€Ös first
crewed, which launched on June 5, 2024 for a planned 10 days.

After Starliner separated from the Atlas V rocket, Williams and Wilmore
performed several maneuvering tests and put the vehicle through its paces.
Starliner performed exceptionally well during these initial tests on day
one.

More so even than launch or landing, the most challenging part of this
mission, which would stress Starlinerâ€Ös handling capabilities as well as
its navigation system, would come as it approached the orbiting laboratory.
Thatâ€Ös when trouble started, as several thrusters began to fail. Wilmore
had to take manual control of the vehicle, but even more thruster failures
ensued.

*Boeingâ€Ös Starliner spacecraft is pictured docked to the International
Space Station. One of the four thruster packs is visible on the service
module. [Credit: NASA] *

Essentially, Wilmore could not fully control Starliner any longer. But
simply abandoning the docking attempt was not a palatable solution. Just as
the thrusters were needed to control the vehicle during the docking
process, they were also necessary to position Starliner for its deorbit
burn and reentry to Earthâ€Ös atmosphere. So Wilmore had to contemplate
whether it was riskier to approach the space station or try to fly back to
Earth. Williams was worrying about the same thing.

Wilmore said, “We knew that they [Mission Control] were working really hard
to be able to keep communication with us, and then be able to send
commands. We were both thinking, what if we lose communication with the
ground?

“Thankfully, these folks are heroes. And please print this. What do heroes
look like? Well, heroes put their tank on and they run into a fiery
building and pull people out of it. Thatâ€Ös a hero. Heroes also sit in their
cubicle for decades studying their systems, and knowing their systems front
and back. And when there is no time to assess a situation and go and talk
to people and ask, ‘What do you think?â€Ö they know their system so well they
come up with a plan on the fly. That is a hero. And there are several of
them in Mission Control.�

For the full article, see http://bit.ly/3XX0cnA

[ANS thanks Eric Berger writing for Ars Technica for the above information]



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