Starliner failure

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux)
07/08/2020 at 11:55 • Filed to: Spacelopnik

The report is out, and unsurprisingly both Boeing and NASA share the blame.

But mostly Boeing.

the spacecraft’s onboard computer time was miscalibrated by 11 hours

Time is hard.

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DISCUSSION (17)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:00

Good thing Boeing is in a strong position overall with no other issues!

oh...wait.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:02

Lack of oversight and cutting corners on testing. Sounds like SOP for Boeing these days.

For Sweden > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:05

I keep telling people that using emulators isn’t a substitute for the real hardware, yet people keep using them! NASA and Boeing are no better than the retro gaming community.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > For Sweden
07/08/2020 at 12:10

How do I know you’re not an emulator?

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:12

Shit... I don’t put new hardware out in the field for the flood warning system without full-scale testing with operational components on the system . I can’t imagine sending up a spacecraft with a ”yep, looks good on the simulations..."

Thomas Donohue > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:12

So when they get a meeting request that’s in Martian Sols Time, that have to subtract four light years from UTC? Or is the computer still on Lunar Savings Time?

People in my office mess this up all the time.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:14

My vote, rather than continue to prop them up, is to “do the AIG thing”, nationalize these assholes, then split them up.

I, for one, seeing how good L-M is at what they do? Give the Boeing Commercial Airplane Division to Lockheed and let them run with it. Preserve the debt, flush the equity and let grown-ups run the company.

Rockets and Space Division to Space-X.

Military Aircraft and Helicopters to Northrup Grumman.

user314 > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:14

Oh, if only Boeing had gotten more money, this all would have been avoided!

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(yes, I know he’s talking about SLS, not Starliner. Same line of BS though.)

Just Jeepin' > Thomas Donohue
07/08/2020 at 12:16

I can’t believe how many marketing emails I get these days with “EST”. I mean, c’mon, if you’re going to communicate with the public then learn the basics.

Thomas Donohue > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:25

I previously worked for a company that did a lot of international work. Meetings were very specific on when they were, since nearly everyone was in a different time zone. When traveling, most people were pretty good about making sure their laptops and phones were in sync.

My new company is based on the US East coast, and barely had business in the western US until very recently. I mean, like 8 AM to 5 PM old school stuff. Since I’ve been here, we’ve had lots of growth throughout the US, and brought on two new European customers.

Meetings are now a SHITSHOW with anyone from the corporate office. Never mind the whole ‘work from home Zoom’ thing.

Math is hard, even when you let Outlook do it for you.

Gone > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 12:25

Boeing doing Boeing things. Very on brand! Wonder if the astronauts feel better about riding in a SpaceX Dragon or the Starliner...

Mild politics below

NASA’s big push for commercial partnerships is a concern of mine. Not a fan of the current Administrator at all either . They’ve pinned their futures on public l y traded companies (profit motive) to do a lot of their future development work and a lot of the heavy lifting for future plans . Be it Boeing, NG, Lockheed, SpaceX, etc. Seems like a recipe for disaster IMO.

f86sabre > Gone
07/08/2020 at 12:51

The issue is NASA has built themselves into bureaucratic corner over the years. While the safety checks and balances were hard earned, there is a mountain of non safety related government red tape that they and other agencies have helped create. Commercial space gives them a reset point. They just need to make sure that they are not tossing the good with the bad. SLS and Orion have taken way longer than they have any right to have with them being based on so much off the shelf tech.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 13:12

Well, at least they got their other measurements right . Right?

LastFirstMI is my name > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 13:28

So Boeing created a software system to help fly the craft, and it didn’t work?

Gone > f86sabre
07/08/2020 at 13:46

This is a good point. T hat last bit is the most important of the private partnerships. I look at all the companies from a military standpoint from time and cost overages and it’s obscene. NASA doesn’t need that end of it. I think a bala nce is good, but it’s hard to be too impressed with bringing on those companies based on their history with military contracting.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Thomas Donohue
07/08/2020 at 13:52

My company is split into divisions that follow time zone boundaries. When we have collaboration projects between divisions, it gets pretty squirrely, especially when people from both the east and west coast divisions are on the team.

MrSnrub > Just Jeepin'
07/08/2020 at 16:19

Yes but was value created for the shareholders?