The Starliner CST-100 crew spacecraft of Boeing got off to an excellent start on its first time to launch early today, the International Space Station (ISS). However, in spite of the launch vehicle and rocket, performing as everyone expected, TechCrunch stated in an article it posted, "The Starliner spacecraft itself hit a bit of a snag when it arrived in time for its own post-launch mission to begin." In the same TechCrunch article, it was also indicated that "the Starliner capsule successfully detached from the ULA Centaur second-stage rocket" that took it to its sub-orbital target in space.
However, when Starliner was supposedly about to light up its engines and force itself to its target orbit, the required burn did not push through. Instead, Boeing said that the spacecraft attained a constant or unchanging position to "to charge up its solar-powered batteries," and that it was found to have worked on the ground with the team to find out movements are to follow to take the spacecraft where it should be.
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What Went Wrong
Jim Bridenstine, the NASA Administrator, provided via his post on Twitter early this morning, the first considerable update on what went wrong, stating that there was an occurrence wherein the Starliner spacecraft assumed it was already "in an orbital insertion burn," but it was actually, not. Meaning, its mission clock went through some errors that told the systems of the Starliner it was in a different point in the mission process than it, in fact, should have been.
Consequently, the spacecraft was reported to have burned more fuel compared to its supposed amount of fuel to burn. It also missed its protected orbital point, the same report said. In addition, Starliner was said to have subsequently done its second burn and still in a stable orbit. However, it is now incapable of reaching the ISS as originally planned.
NASA's Evolution by Collaborating with Private Space Companies
Like Boeing, many other companies have increasingly looked to space as their business venue, and NASA has been changing in various ways, particularly in collaborating with different corporations for the development of new technologies. Earlier this year, the American government agency announced it was opening ISS to private astronauts "with short missions starting as soon as 2020." More so, according to NASA, it would allow firms to bid both "manufacturing and production in space." Relatively, the space station has been hyped as a stepping stone to the creation of a network of business in orbit around the Earth. Therefore, businesses can already experiment, manufacture, advertise, and promote, and even be the tourists' hosts.
After the announcement of NASA, Jeff DeWit, the agency CFO discussed how more businesses involved in the space station would lower both the cost and risk of venturing in outer space. Additionally, DeWit "pointed to the satellite segment of the industry as an example for how switching operations and ownership from government-built-and-owned commercial can drive innovation," like services or communication like the satellite television, for one.
