The second attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test was halted today less than four minutes before liftoff. A computer called an automated ground launch sequencer that controls the launch in those last four minutes triggered the hold. The cause is still being determined and a new launch date is pending. NASA said late this afternoon they will not try tomorrow. The next opportunity is June 5.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are ready for launch tomorrow on Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test. This is their second try after a faulty valve on the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas rocket scrubbed the mission on May 6 and technical glitches later discovered in Starliner delayed it until now. NASA, Boeing, ULA and the crew are convinced the problems are sufficiently understood, if not entirely remedied, to ensure a safe test flight. The weather forecast is 90 percent favorable, but there’s a chance onshore winds could be “feisty.”
Peru and Slovakia signed the Artemis Accords today at NASA Headquarters, bringing the number of signatories up to 42. Countries from all six continents that have governments — Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America — have agreed to the U.S.-led non-binding principles for responsible behavior on the Moon, nine of them this year alone.
Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon did not wake up when JAXA sent a signal yesterday (EDT). The sturdy lander has surprised everyone by continuing to operate after repeated long, cold lunar nights that doom other landers that have only solar cells for power. JAXA has not given up on SLIM and will try again next month when the Sun returns to the landing site.
North Korea’s attempt to launch a second military reconnaissance satellite into orbit today failed. Video of the rocket exploding during ascent was captured by Japan’s NHK television and North Korea acknowledged the failure. [Updated May 30 with State Department reaction.]
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com over the last week, May 20-26, 2024, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of May 26-June 2, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess this week except for pro forma sessions.
NASA, Boeing and the United Launch Alliance will make a second try to launch the Starliner Crew Flight Test on June 1. While fixing a bad valve on the rocket that caused the launch to be scrubbed on May 6, two unrelated problems with the spacecraft were found. They’ve concluded Starliner is good to go for this test flight, but changes may be made for future missions to deal with a recently discovered “design vulnerability” in the propulsion system.
The Senate appropriators who fund NASA left no doubt today that the Artemis program is their top priority for the agency. In a friendly hearing, Democrats and Republicans stressed the importance of staying ahead of China in space exploration and keeping Artemis on schedule.
NASA has officially acknowledged that the Starliner Crew Flight Test will not take place on May 25. The launch has been on hold since May 6 first because of a bad valve on the launch vehicle and then with a helium leak in the spacecraft’s propulsion system. A new launch date is pending.