Two hours later and still no update. Note to Boeing and NASA: no news is not good news, itโs no news, and the vacuum that lack of news creates will be filled by speculation.
— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) May 20, 2022
[Update a few minutes later]
Hearing the same. As of a few minutes ago from a recently-concluded mission management meeting, Boeing and NASA still expect Starliner to dock to the space station at 7:10pm ET. https://t.co/mUFoeyuh0Y
— Joey Roulette (@joroulette) May 20, 2022
[Update at noon PDT]
A5/OFT-2: Mission control to the ISS crew ~2:45pm EDT (1845 UTC): "Wanted to let you know the IMMT (ISS mission management team) polled go to continue with the rendezvous;" Bob Hines, aboard ISS, replied "OK, that is great news"
— William Harwood (@cbs_spacenews) May 20, 2022
[Update as the vehicle approaches ISS]
The first time Dragon and Starliner have appeared in space together in the same frame. If Dragon had arms, pretty sure it would be waving hi. pic.twitter.com/EQJNivpX3J
— Max Fagin ๐๐ด๐โ๐ (@MaxFagin) May 20, 2022
Well it left without a countdown, why should it dock on a timeline?
If the Shuttle was NASA’s “Space Truck”, does that make Starliner NASA’s “Amtrak”?
Seriously tho, I hope all is going well. It’s expensive as hell but it is a backup.
Watched the Angry Astronaut on YouTube, he claims that two of the thrusters on the Service Module shut down prematurely when they fired, and this indicates an unknown potential problem which should, if safety is an issue, persuade NASA to call off the docking today. I have no idea of the veracity of his claim nor his sources, but if true it is concerning.
They’re saying that the know that cause, and it shouldn’t be an issue.
That’s good news!
They finally got there.
Starliner has 4 “doghouses” (sometimes referred to as “cans”) around the periphery of the service module, each with 3 large and 2 small thrusters. It was two of he large ones that failed over. Since there are 12 of these, only used 4 at a time on orbit, the real problem pertains to launch escape, when all 12 are fired at once.
Good details, thanks.
Added info, the main impulse for the Starliner LES is from four RS-88 Bantam engines modified to run on hypergols. The OMACS thrusters are for “stabilization,” but the pictures I’ve seen show all 12 aft-facing OMACS running at the same time. I tried to find out if the RS-88s can gimbal or throttle without success. If not, then the OMACS are required.
“If Dragon had arms, pretty sure it would be waving hi.”
Or holding their hands up incase Starliner gets too close.