212
Two US astronauts stuck in space as Boeing analyzes Starliner problems (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 6 months ago by gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
38 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240626130830/https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/26/boeing-starliner-astronauts

top 38 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] atocci@lemmy.world 150 points 6 months ago

Just to be clear on this again, they aren't "stuck" because they're in danger, the stay keeps getting extended so engineers can gather as much information as possible about the leaks before they return. Starliner is still fully capable of reentry, but this is Boeing's last chance to collect data that can be used to fix these issues in the future. The leak problem is in Starliner's service module, which detaches from the capsule before reentry and burns up in the atmosphere, so there won't be anything left to study after the astronauts return.

[-] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 9 points 6 months ago

I agree the headline isn’t accurate to NASA’s statements, but I also feel everyone is weighing whether there is something we don’t know.

[-] atocci@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I get that, but because the leak isn't even on the part of Starliner that will go through reentry, whether or not it will impact its ability to survive the return trip shouldn't be in question.

[-] MartianSands@sh.itjust.works 13 points 6 months ago

People keep saying that, but it isn't true that the leak being in the disposable part of the vehicle means it's not a safety problem.

It's the pressurisation system for the thrusters. If that fails, then they won't be able to control the capsule until it hits the atmosphere. That could mean they get stuck on the ISS, in the most extreme case, or it could mean that they lose thrust mid-manouvre and they re-enter the atmosphere incorrectly. That could be anywhere from inconvenient (they miss their landing spot and someone has to come get them), to dangerous (they land so far away that they're in danger of sinking or being eaten by bears before anyone reaches them) to outright fatal (they skip off the atmosphere, or tumble their way into reentry and burn up)

[-] atocci@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

This is a good point. It's definitely a possibility something catastrophic could happen like that, but the small scale of the leaks and amount of extra helium on board makes it very unlikely at least.

[-] MartianSands@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago

Oh, sure. It's not likely to be a serious threat, but not for the reason people keep saying

[-] grue@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

to dangerous (they land so far away that they're in danger of... being eaten by bears before anyone reaches them)

I know Soyuz was designed to land in Kazakhstan or whatever, but is Starliner (or Dragon, for that matter) even capable of landing on solid ground without damage and/or injuries?

[-] atocci@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Yes it is actually! When it finally returns, this Starliner will be landing in New Mexico at the White Sands Space Harbor, which is basically a backup space shuttle landing strip.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Neat, thanks! (What about Dragon?)

[-] atocci@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

It's not designed to like Starliner, but Dragon can in emergency situations. Starliner has airbags to cushion it on touchdown, but Dragon doesn't so it would probably be a much rougher landing for the astronauts.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

White Sands Space Harbor

That is a really cool name

[-] CptEnder@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Don't they have a backup Soyuz docked there as well?

[-] atocci@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

No, there's only one Soyuz from the Russian side of things, and its seats are spoken for

[-] dhork@lemmy.world 42 points 6 months ago

They are taking "if it's Boeing I'm not going" to a new level

[-] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 15 points 6 months ago

Better to live in space than die in upper atmo

[-] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

They should have thought of that while they were still on the ground.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

[-] ramble81@lemm.ee 42 points 6 months ago

So which one of them is the whistleblower?

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 10 points 6 months ago

In space, nobody hears you whistle.

Coming soon to a news outlet near you!

[-] EleventhHour@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

…or not!

[-] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 25 points 6 months ago

I flew on a 737 max 8 today, so I basically know how these astronauts feel.

[-] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 21 points 6 months ago

The most recent delays were due to scheduling not hardware issues, as the article admits despite its headline.

[-] mrgreyeyes@feddit.nl 9 points 6 months ago

The MCAS system is now so robust it only wants to go up..

[-] mlg@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago

Boeing trying to speedrun Soyuz 11

[-] tobogganablaze@lemmus.org 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

inb4 post get removed because theguardian changes the title of their article again.

[-] Fedizen@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

Boeing says those capsules are just fine, its just a little leak, bro.

[-] expatriado@lemmy.world -1 points 6 months ago

this is too memey to be true

[-] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works -3 points 6 months ago

Couple weird looking folks

this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2024
212 points (90.5% liked)

News

23680 readers
4097 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil

Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.

2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.

Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.

3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.

Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.

4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.

Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.

5. Only recent news is allowed.

Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.

6. All posts must be news articles.

No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

7. No duplicate posts.

If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.

8. Misinformation is prohibited.

Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.

9. No link shorteners.

The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.

10. Don't copy entire article in your post body

For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
rjc@lemmy.world
Thekingoflorda@lemmy.world
Tenthrow@lemmy.world
JonsJava@lemmy.world
gedaliyah@lemmy.world
little_cow@lemmy.world
jeffw@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world