SpaceX became the world’s leading space company, leveraging its lucrative contracts and relationships with NASA to design a rocket and spacecraft that helped it disrupt the space market, restoring human spaceflight to states -United after the retirement of the space shuttle and to build a multi-billion dollar project. a multi-dollar company that now launches a rocket every few days.
Boeing, for its part, is finally ready to launch its first human spaceflight mission at 10:52 a.m. Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after two launch attempts failed due to mechanical problems with the rocket. Boeing faced mechanical and software problems with its Starliner spacecraft that cost $1.4 billion, resulted in cost overruns and did immeasurable damage to its reputation as the nation’s premier aerospace company.
Its first flight with humans on board was canceled again Saturday, this time due to a computer problem with the rocket, operated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The flight would carry NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore to the International Space Station and last about eight days, part of a mission to test how the spacecraft would work in space with people in edge.
Once Boeing completes the flight, NASA would certify Starliner to fly regular crew rotation missions to the space station, carrying a full contingent of four astronauts for six-month stays. NASA was eager to fly Boeing to provide the space agency with another spacecraft in addition to SpaceX, which has been transporting crews to the station since 2020.
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Although Boeing has struggled, its delays stand in stark contrast to SpaceX’s success and highlight the gap between the two companies’ ways of operating. Although it now has more than 10,000 employees across multiple locations, SpaceX still operates like a scrappy startup, capable of scaling with agility. He innovates quickly, testing hardware until it breaks, sometimes even triggering explosions, then making adjustments and trying again and again until he succeeds. Instead of contracting with other companies for most of the parts that go into its vehicles, SpaceX builds many of its rockets and spacecraft in-house.
As a major defense contractor, Boeing operates in a more traditional manner, flying when it believes all hardware and subsystems have been thoroughly tested on the ground. The commercial crew contract structure, “fixed price” meaning companies absorb any cost overruns, was a difficult adjustment for Boeing, which generally entered into “cost-plus” contracts with the government that reimbursed the company in the event of an excess. budget.
The next crewed flight therefore constitutes a critical step, which Pam Melroy, deputy administrator of NASA, described as an “existential” moment for the company.
Boeing’s first crewed test flight was originally scheduled for May 6, but hours before the scheduled launch time, teams noticed that a valve that regulates pressure and pushes the flow of propellants on the second stage of the Atlas V rocket malfunctioned and canceled the launch. . Crews replaced the valve, but then discovered a helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, which officials say is so small that it does not pose a problem for flight.
On Saturday, Starliner was in the final four minutes of the countdown to launch when an automated computer canceled the launch because one of the computer systems was slow to come online. If Wednesday’s attempt fails, NASA said Boeing could try again on Thursday. After that, however, the Atlas V rocket would have to move back from the launch pad to replace the batteries, which would delay the flight by at least 10 more days.
Before the test mission, NASA and Boeing repeatedly stated that they would take the greatest care to ensure that the flight was carried out as safely as possible and that the lives of the astronauts on board were the top priority . Delays are normal during spaceflight, especially when humans are aboard a spacecraft that has never carried humans.
However, to get there, the road was long and difficult. In December 2019, Boeing believed Starliner was ready for its first test flight without anyone on board. This didn’t go well. The autonomous capsule’s onboard computer was 11 hours off, so the spacecraft began executing commands for an entirely different part of the flight.
Engineers also quickly discovered a second software glitch, which could have caused the service module to crash into the crew capsule during separation before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. The problems were so severe that NASA officials said the spacecraft could have been lost because of either, threatening the lives of the astronauts, had there been any on board. The flight never reached the space station but returned successfully.
The next launch attempt, in 2021, never took off because several valves in the capsule’s service module were closed by corrosion. It eventually completed a successful uncrewed flight to the station in 2022, but then discovered flammable tape in the capsule that needed to be removed as well as problems with the parachute system.
NASA and Boeing said in April that they had resolved all of these issues and were ready. “I can say with confidence that the teams absolutely did their due diligence,” said NASA associate administrator James Free. The test flight has since been postponed five times.
SpaceX has also experienced a series of setbacks that initially concerned NASA. Two of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets exploded, one in 2015, the other in 2016. And during a 2019 test of its emergency shutdown system, the Dragon capsule that was to carry the astronauts also exploded.
But since then, SpaceX has flown several missions for NASA and taken private astronauts to the station and into orbit. She also received an extension to her contract with NASA to fly astronaut missions.
His relationship with NASA lasted a long time. SpaceX originally won a contract in 2006 as part of a program to begin developing cargo transportation to the space station, an award that essentially saved it from bankruptcy. In 2008, it won a $1.6 billion contract to begin flying resupply missions to the station.
As NASA began to rely on its rockets and spacecraft, SpaceX argued that the Pentagon should too, and eventually the company began winning contracts to fly some of NASA’s satellites into space. most sensitive national security issues in the country.
The government’s investment in SpaceX, along with the company’s high flight cadence, in-house manufacturing, and efficient business practices – as well as CEO Elon Musk’s relentless drive to push his employees to work harder and faster – allowed it to offer launches at very high prices. below those of its competitors, which, in turn, allowed it to capture more business and revenue.
As it grew, SpaceX decided to build a constellation of satellites, called Starlink, that allow users to access the Internet, even from remote locations. SpaceX now operates around 6,000 Starlink satellites and says it has 3 million customers.
In addition to flying its Falcon 9 rocket, which was launched nearly 100 times last year, at an unprecedented pace, it is now working to develop its next-generation Starship rocket, the most powerful ever flown.
As SpaceX’s capabilities have grown, so has NASA’s confidence and investment in the company.
In 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to use Starship to land astronauts on the Moon. On each of its first three test flights, Starship made methodical progress. The fourth could happen as soon as Thursday, the day Boeing hopes Starliner will finally reach the space station.