Next Boeing Starliner Launch Could be Weeks to Months Away
Parabolic Arc by Doug Messier August 4, 2021
http://parabolicarc.com/2021/08/04/next-boeing-starliner-launch-could-be-weeks-to-months-away/It could take between several weeks and two months for Boeing to work through the valve problems that resulted in the launch scrub of the Starliner spacecraft on Tuesday, a source tells Parabolic Arc. The vehicle will be launched from Florida on an uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station (ISS).
The launch was scrubbed after engineers received what Boeing said “unexpected valve position indications in the propulsion system” of the spacecraft. The signals came from more than half of the 24 propulsion valves in Starliner’s service module, according to the source, who insisted upon anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to media.
The affected valves, which are positioned throughout the service module, supply fuel and oxidizer to Starliner’s attitude control and orbital maneuvering thrusters and launch abort engines. Boeing said it ruled out software errors as a cause of the signals.
A number of the valves are in locations that can’t be reached because the spacecraft was closed out for launch. It is possible that Boeing engineers will need to partially de-stack Starliner from its Atlas V booster and take apart the service module to reach the valves, the source said.