William Harwood – Page 3 – Spaceflight Now

NASA again delays Starliner undocking, return to Earth

June 22, 2024 William Harwood

NASA and Boeing managers have again decided to extend the Starliner crew capsule’s stay at the International Space Station, passing up a June 26 re-entry to allow more time for analysis and testing to make sure helium leaks and thruster failures are fully understood, officials said late Friday.

NASA moves Starliner landing to June 26 to collect more test flight data

June 18, 2024 William Harwood

The additional docked time will give Starliner commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams more time to help out aboard the station while flight controllers and engineers continue scrutinizing telemetry and finalizing plans for re-entry with five known helium leaks in the capsule’s propulsion system and unexpected, presumably now-resolved issues with multiple maneuvering jets.

Starliner crew welcomed aboard space station

June 8, 2024 William Harwood

Working around multiple helium leaks and thruster problems, the crew of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft wrapped up a challenging rendezvous and a delayed-but-successful docking with the International Space Station Thursday in a major milestone for the new ship’s first piloted test flight.

Despite gyro failure, NASA says Hubble Space Telescope still up to world-class science

June 5, 2024 William Harwood

Trouble with one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s three remaining gyroscopes, critical for aiming and locking onto targets, prompted mission managers to switch to a backup control mode that will limit some observations but keep the iconic observatory running well into the 2030s, officials said Tuesday.

NASA foregoes Sunday launch, delaying Starliner takeoff to at least Wednesday

June 1, 2024 William Harwood

The seemingly star-cross Boeing Starliner — within minutes of its long-delayed blastoff on the spacecraft’s first piloted test flight — was grounded again Saturday when one of three redundant computers managing the countdown from the base of the launch pad ran into a problem, triggering a last-minute scrub.

NASA says Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule can safely fly ‘as is’ with propulsion system helium leak

May 24, 2024 William Harwood

After nearly three weeks of exhaustive tests and data analysis, NASA managers said Friday they are confident Boeing’s oft-delayed Starliner crew capsule can safely launch “as is” June 1, saying a small helium leak in the ship’s propulsion system does not pose a flight safety concern.

Boeing Starliner launch Saturday ruled out as helium leak analysis continues

May 22, 2024 William Harwood

Plans to launch Boeing’s oft-delayed Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed test flight Saturday were put on hold Tuesday night to give managers more time to evaluate a small helium leak in the ship’s propulsion system. A new launch target was not announced.

Blue Origin resumes passenger flights, carries crew of six and 90-year-old aerospace pioneer to space

May 20, 2024 William Harwood

Ed Dwight, a 90-year-old artist and former Air Force test pilot who was denied a chance to become the first African American astronaut six decades ago, finally rocketed into space Sunday, fulfilling a cherished dream in a brief up-and-down flight out of the lower atmosphere.

Boeing Starliner launch slips to May 21 to verify helium leak fix

May 14, 2024 William Harwood

Launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying Boeing’s Starliner capsule is slipping another four days, from Friday to next Tuesday, to give engineers time to make sure a helium leak in the crew ship’s propulsion system has been resolved, officials said Tuesday.

Starliner launch scrubbed by trouble with a valve in the Atlas 5’s Centaur upper stage

May 7, 2024 William Harwood

An Atlas 5 rocket carrying astronauts for the first time was fueled for blastoff Monday night to boost Boeing’s long-delayed Starliner crew ferry ship into orbit for its first piloted test flight. But trouble with a valve in the rocket’s upper stage forced mission managers to order a scrub just two hours before takeoff.