CNBC by Michael Sheetz 5/12/2022
Boeing considers redesigning problematic valve that has kept Starliner from flying NASA astronauts
Key Points
• Boeing is examining whether to redesign the propulsion valves on its Starliner crew capsule.
• The key system has kept the company from flying astronauts for NASA.
• “Once we get all the information that we need, we’ll make that decision,” Boeing vice president Mark Nappi said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Boeing is examining whether to redesign the propulsion valves on its Starliner crew capsule, a crucial system that has kept the company from flying astronauts for NASA — and competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Starliner is the spacecraft that Boeing has been developing under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, having won nearly $5 billion in contracts to build the capsule. But Starliner’s development has run into several obstacles. A software malfunction cut short the first uncrewed orbital flight in 2019, and a propulsion valve problem was identified before launching the second attempt last August.
“A valve redesign is definitely on the table,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and Commercial Crew program manager, said during a news conference Wednesday. “Once we get all the information that we need, we’ll make that decision.”
More:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/12/boeing-considers-redesigning-crucial-valve-for-starliner-space-capsule.html
