26
votes
Accepted
Cost per launch to ISS: Starliner vs Crew Dragon
What is the cost to NASA per launch to ISS of Starliner vs Crew Dragon?
According to a 2019 report by NASA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the launch costs are (in million\$):
Vehicle
cost ...
- 18k
21
votes
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Purpose of Starliner ‘chicken wire’?
Not primary sources, but the most consistent term I've seen to refer to these is "lattice structure," which unfortunately is a generic structural engineering term.
Everyday Astronaut's ...
- 10.1k
19
votes
Accepted
Why was the Atlas V's SRB kept attached for 1 minute after burnout in the OFT-2 mission?
The solid rocket boosters are left attached because they don't want to separate them during the phase of highest dynamic loading of the vehicle. The risk of something going wrong during this critical ...
- 3,235
11
votes
Accepted
Can a Boeing CST-100 be used to provide station reboost?
The answer is yes, it can used to re-boost the ISS.
According to the information in spaceflightinsider.com and in rocket.com Aerojet Rockedyne site in the RCS engines paragraph, in a declaration of ...
- 2,145
6
votes
What is the “floating dust” seen in the Starliner test landing colour footage?
I sincerely doubt this is "dust" of any kind. It looks and behaves like the classic sensor noise that is visible any time an image sensor is used at high gain. Noise in this case is typically ...
- 223
6
votes
Accepted
What "gap" could have caused the Starliner instructions to be delayed?
This was briefly discussed in the Dec 21 press briefing.
It wasn’t a gap in the sense of “no radio waves here”. Rather, since the craft was confused about what time it was and hence what attitude ...
- 12.6k
5
votes
Can the US Manned vehicles (CST-100, Dragon V2) dock to a Russian vehicle?
No, two incompatible systems are used on the ISS. (For docking...many other incompatible systems are used as well).
The FGB could dock to the PMA because the FGB has an APAS (Androgynous Peripheral ...
- 178k
5
votes
Accepted
Would astronauts have been able to save the CST-100 mission?
According to the NASA Administrator if the crew had been present, yes.
"This anomaly has to do with automation," Bridenstine said. "Nicole
[Mann] and Mike [Fincke] are trained specifically to ...
- 178k
4
votes
Accepted
What launch vehicles of those compatible will Starliner actually use?
When this kind of compatibility is required, they mostly mean mechanically, vibrations and things like that. The software isn't written, nor the conops, and other tests haven't likely been done. In ...
- 121k
4
votes
Accepted
Does the FAA still license the people who fold human-rated reentry parachutes?
Yes, the FAA does in fact still certify parachute packers ('parachute riggers' is the specific term), who receive ratings based on the types of parachutes they are trained to pack. However, the FAA ...
- 1,265
4
votes
What limits how long spacecrafts like Orion, Dragon, Starliner can support their crews' lives?
There should be enough supply of everything needed for life support. Oxygen at first, but also the absorbers needed for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the spacecraft.
Water for ...
- 48.8k
4
votes
What limits how long spacecrafts like Orion, Dragon, Starliner can support their crews' lives?
Orion as a capsule will have an actual Service Module attached. It is being provided by ESA, as a highly modified version of the ATV cargo transport. This is a pretty large add on, and provides both ...
- 79.3k
3
votes
Accepted
Why exactly didn't they jettinson the boosters direct after burnout at the Starliner launch?
Scott Manley speculates they were trying to avoid hitting themselves.
Because the launch trajectory was so low the altitude at burn out was still inside the atmosphere. He speculates the engineers ...
- 7,996
2
votes
Are the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and Orion MPCV interchangeable at any level?
Short principle-based answer: Yes
They both use a Low Impact Docking System, so what one could dock with the other could too. For that matter, they could dock with eachother.
Here's the principle ...
- 1,108
2
votes
Could SpaceX's Dragon V2 or the Boeing Starliner be upgraded to travel beyond LEO
It is the volume problem that must be solved to leave LEO. LEO means you can be resupplied and abort back to Earth in an emergency. With Cis lunar or farther you have a series of non-linear scaling ...
- 21
1
vote
What is the “floating dust” seen in the Starliner test landing colour footage?
I agree with uhoh's comment -- this is photon shot noise and/or detector readout shot noise raised to a visible level by way of high gain applied to dark image areas. You can see similar effects ...
- 2,117
1
vote
Are the Orion and the CST-100 basically the same spacecraft?
The Orion emergency escape system is of the old Apollo pull rocket and shroud system. The CST-100 has a more modern pusher RS-88 rocket system for emergency escape.
The CST-100 is designed to be ...
1
vote
Could SpaceX's Dragon V2 or the Boeing Starliner be upgraded to travel beyond LEO
The ISS crew cargo craft do not have real facilities for long term stays. There is no washroom for example.
Of course any serious beyond-LEO mission in a capsule will likely include a hab module of ...
- 79.3k
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