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Related: About this forumBoeing's botched Starliner test flirted with 'catastrophic' failure: NASA panel
Source: Reuters
BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 6, 2020 / 8:58 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
Boeing's botched Starliner test flirted with 'catastrophic' failure: NASA panel
Joey Roulette
2 MIN READ
(Reuters) - Boeing narrowly missed a catastrophic failure during its December flight test of an unmanned space taxi that was cut short by an unrelated problem, a NASA safety review panel said Thursday, recommending that the agency examine Boeings software verification process before letting it fly humans to space.
The newly revealed software bug, which Boeing said was fixed while the CST-100 Starliner was still in orbit, could have led to erroneous thruster firings that could have resulted in a catastrophic spacecraft failure, panel member Paul Hill said.
Boeing and NASA officials had zeroed in on an unrelated glitch, with the spacecrafts automated timer, hours after the spacecraft failed to reach its intended orbit 30 minutes into flight. The timer malfunction forced the craft to scrub its rendezvous with the International Space Station, and the Starliner returned to Earth a week early.
NASA still must decide whether to make Boeing repeat the unmanned docking test before spacecraft can carry astronauts. Boeing recorded a $410 million charge last month to cover that possibility.
The panel has a larger concern with the rigor of Boeings verification processes, said Hill, a former NASA flight director who now serves on the panel that advises NASA on safety issues. Speaking during the panels quarterly meeting on Thursday, Hill said the agency should go beyond merely correcting the cause of the anomalies and scrutinize Boeings entire software testing processes.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-boeing/boeings-botched-starliner-test-flirted-with-catastrophic-failure-nasa-panel-idUSKBN20106A
eppur_se_muova
(36,227 posts)democratisphere
(17,235 posts)knows the importance of doing things right the first time.
PSPS
(13,516 posts)They turned themselves into a "financial company" when they moved to Chicago in 2001.
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)A burned out shell of their former selves. Bean counters always destroy companies.
Midnightwalk
(3,131 posts)The new issue with the new software for the 737 max failures. That software has had at least 3 problems trying to deliver a fix. One of them requiring serious design changes when the system couldnt handle a processor failure quickly enough.
The reliability requirements are incredibly hard to hit. You cant do it without a rigorous process.
Just my opinion. I only know what I read online.