TESMANIAN by Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo 7/30/2023
SpaceX provides Boeing with ‘knowledge of crewed parachute systems’ to help fix their Starliner issues, shares Elon Musk
In a significant move of collaboration between two major players in the aerospace industry, Elon Musk's SpaceX has offered its expertise to Boeing to assist in the approval process for launching NASA crew missions using the Starliner spacecraft. Boeing has been diligently working on its Starliner project for years, aiming to fulfill its contract with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to provide crew transportation to the International Space Station (ISS). However, a series of setbacks and technical issues have delayed its progress.
The latest setback occurred in June, when Boeing postponed its planned July Starliner launch due to the discovery of two major issues. The first involved problems with the lines connecting the Starliner capsule to its parachutes, a critical component in ensuring a safe descent upon re-entry. The second issue involved the identification of flammable tape used inside the craft, raising safety concerns. Furthermore, Boeing has been facing financial challenges on the Starliner project since winning a $5 billion contract from NASA in 2014. The prolonged development and testing phase have reportedly led to $1.1 billion in losses for the company.
Enter SpaceX, a company that has already successfully completed multiple NASA flights under its contracted missions, now wants to help Boeing solve its spacecraft issues. On July 26, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX had shared its technical details on parachute systems with Boeing. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is equipped with four parachutes that enable astronauts to land softly in the ocean when they return from space, Starliner plans to utilize a similar method for a safe return. “SpaceX provided its knowledge of crewed parachute systems to Boeing and we are happy to be helpful in any other ways. Designing parachutes for orbital, crewed spacecraft is much harder than it may seem. Was a major challenge for SpaceX,” shared Musk via X.
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https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/boeing-parachute
