SpaceX has emerged as the world’s leading space company, using its lucrative contracts and relationship with NASA to design a rocket and spacecraft that have helped it disrupt the space market, restore human spaceflight after the retirement of the Space Shuttle, and build a multibillion-dollar business that now it launches a rocket once every few days.
Boeing, on the other hand, is now finally ready to launch its first manned space mission at 10:52 a.m. Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after two launch attempts were scrubbed due to mechanical problems with the rocket. Boeing has been plagued by mechanical and software problems with its Starliner spacecraft that cost $1.4 billion and are expected to exceed and have caused immeasurable damage to its reputation as the nation’s leading airline.
Its maiden flight with humans on board was canceled again on Saturday, this time due to a computer problem with the rocket, which is operated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The flight will carry NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore to the International Space Station and last about eight days as part of a mission to test how the spacecraft performs in space with humans on board.
Once Boeing completes the flight, NASA will certify the Starliner to fly regular crew-rotation missions to the space station with a full contingent of four astronauts for six-month stays. NASA wanted Boeing to fly to give the space agency another spacecraft in addition to SpaceX, which has been flying crews to the station since 2020.
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While Boeing has struggled, its delays have been in stark contrast to SpaceX’s success and highlight the gulf between how the two companies operate. Despite growing to more than 10,000 employees in various locations, SpaceX still operates as a scrappy start-up capable of moving nimbly. He innovates quickly, tests hardware until it breaks, sometimes even sets off explosions, then makes adjustments and tries again and again until it works. Instead of contracting with other companies for many of the parts that go into its vehicles, SpaceX builds most of its rockets and spacecraft in-house.
As a massive defense contractor, Boeing operates in a more traditional fashion, flying when it thinks all hardware and subsystems have been thoroughly field-tested. The commercial crew contract structure, “fixed price,” meaning the companies accept any cost overruns, was a difficult adjustment for Boeing, which typically had “cost-plus” contracts with the government that reimbursed the companies if they went over budget.
So the upcoming crewed flight is a critical milestone that Pam Melroy, NASA’s deputy administrator, said is an “existential” moment for the company.
Boeing’s first crewed test flight was originally scheduled for May 6, but hours before the scheduled launch, the teams noticed that the valve that regulates pressure and forces the flow of propellants on the second stage of the Atlas V rocket was malfunctioning, and canceled the launch. . The teams replaced the valve, but then discovered a helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, which officials say is so small it won’t pose a problem for flight.
On Saturday, the Starliner was in the final four minutes of the countdown to launch when the automated computer called off the launch because one of the computer systems was slow to connect. If Wednesday’s attempt is scrapped, NASA said Boeing could try again on Thursday. After that, however, the Atlas V rocket would have to return from the launch pad to replace the batteries, delaying the flight by at least another 10 days.
Before the test mission, NASA and Boeing repeatedly stated that they would take the utmost care to make the flight as safe as possible and that the lives of the astronauts on board were the highest priority. Delays are normal in spaceflight, especially for humans aboard a spacecraft that has never flown with humans.
However, getting to this point has been a long and painful journey. In December 2019, Boeing thought the Starliner was ready for its first unmanned test flight. It didn’t turn out well. The autonomous capsule’s on-board computer was out for 11 hours, so the spacecraft began executing commands for a completely different part of the flight.
Engineers also soon discovered a second software problem that could have caused the service module to crash into the crew cabin during separation before re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The problems were so severe that NASA officials said the spacecraft could have been lost because of one of them, which would have endangered the lives of the astronauts if there were any on board. The flight never reached the space station, but returned successfully.
Another launch attempt in 2021 never got off the ground because several valves in the capsule’s service module were corroded. He eventually made a successful unmanned flight to the station in 2022, but then discovered flammable tape in the capsule that had to be removed, as well as problems with the parachute system.
NASA and Boeing said in April that they have resolved all of these issues and are ready. “I can say with confidence that the teams absolutely did their due diligence,” said James Free, NASA’s associate administrator. The test flight has since been postponed five times.
SpaceX also initially had a number of setbacks involving NASA. Two of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets exploded, one in 2015, the other in 2016. And during a test of its emergency abort system in 2019, the Dragon capsule meant to carry the astronauts also exploded.
But since then, SpaceX has completed several missions for NASA, as well as taking private astronauts to the station and into orbit. It also received an extension of its contract with NASA for astronaut flights.
Her relationship with NASA was a long time in the making. SpaceX originally won the contract in 2006 as part of a program to begin development of cargo transportation to the space station, an award that essentially saved it from bankruptcy. In 2008, it won a $1.6 billion contract to launch in-flight resupply missions to the station.
As NASA began to rely on its rockets and spacecraft, SpaceX argued that the Pentagon should too, and eventually the company began winning contracts to carry some of the nation’s most sensitive security satellites into space.
The government’s investment in SpaceX, as well as the company’s high flight speed, in-house manufacturing and efficient business practices — along with CEO Elon Musk’s relentless drive to push its employees to work harder and faster — have allowed it to offer launches at far lower prices. lower than its competitors, which in turn allowed it to gain more business and revenue.
As SpaceX has grown, it has moved to build a constellation of satellites called Starlink that allow users to access the Internet, even from remote locations. SpaceX now operates about 6,000 Starlink satellites and says it has 3 million customers.
In addition to flying his Falcon 9 rocket, which launched nearly 100 times last year, an unprecedented rate, he is now working on developing his next-generation Starship rocket, the most powerful to ever fly.
As SpaceX’s capabilities grew, so did NASA’s confidence and investment in the company.
In 2021, NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to use Starship to land astronauts on the Moon. On each of its first three test flights, the Starship made methodical progress. A fourth could arrive as early as Thursday, the day Boeing hopes the Starliner will finally reach the space station.