Astronaut just Revealed Boeing Starliner Situation is Worse Than Ever! Can't Return?

The problems with the Boeing Starliner have never subsided. Instead, they are getting worse than ever. Indeed, with just days left until the return date, one more problem has been discovered on the vehicle, directly threatening the safety of two stranded NASA astronauts. And one of them recently had to sound a note of caution. So, what do NASA and experts have to say about this? How has Elon Musk responded? Find out everything in today's TechMap episode. But before we begin, let's subscribe to the channel to stay up to date with the latest space news. If you've ever watched the 1979 movie Alien, you'll surely be haunted by the tagline, in space, no one can hear you scream. And that's true. Space is mostly a vacuum, which means traditional sound waves, which require a medium like air to travel, cannot propagate. However, certain types of waves, such as electromagnetic waves, can be converted into sound. NASA utilizes this principle to record sounds from space by capturing radio waves and plasma waves emitted by celestial bodies, which are then transformed into audible soundtracks for analysis and public interest. On October 28, 2020, while Halloween was coming, NASA released some new space audio to set the mood and remind us that we may not be alone in the universe. Back this year, even though Halloween is almost two months away, NASA and Boeing has prepared things soon. On August 31, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore made everyone shocked by announcing a weird sound inside the Starliner spacecraft. I've got a question about Starliner. Wilmore radioed down to Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston. There's a strange noise coming through the speaker, and I didn't know if you could connect into the Starliner and let me keep my listening ear. I don't know what's making it, but I don't know if it's something that may be connected between here and there, making that happen. Butch, that one came through. It was kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping. The strange rhythmic noises have quickly become viral on X, raising questions about the spacecraft's condition and the nature of the sounds. NASA has since issued a press statement in response to the situation. A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station, has stopped, NASA said. The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner. Due to the complex audio system on the ISS, where multiple spacecraft and modules are interconnected, experiencing noise and feedback is normal, according to NASA. If the crew hears sounds from the communication system, they are asked to contact Mission Control. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner's uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, September 6, NASA continued. However, some experts have expressed concern that things are not as normal as they seem. Canadian former astronaut Chris Hadfield wrote on X, there are several noises I'd prefer not to hear inside my spaceship, including this one that Boeing Starliner is now making. In addition, Tom Mueller, one of SpaceX's first employees and the man behind the success of the Merlin rocket engine, shared, sounds like bang-bang pressing of propellant tanks. Those concerns come from the context that both Boeing and NASA have struggled with serious troubles on the Starliner spacecraft, including substantial helium leaks in flight and failing thrusters. In particular, engineers have yet to fix the Starliner thruster problem. Not to mention, we don't know if there are any other problems inside the spacecraft. The uncertainty about the flyability of Starliner has forced NASA's decision makers to order a rescue mission on SpaceX's Dragon to bring Wilmore and Williams home instead of Boeing's vehicle. Starliner is now due to fly back autonomously to Earth on Friday, September 6. Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth next February, flying aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft scheduled to launch with just two astronauts later this month. Through the above matter, we can see clearly that holding Starliner long in space is such a terrible idea. As the vehicle continues to degrade, the threat to the entire ISS and all astronauts on board will increase. The vehicle will return to Earth on Friday. Hopefully, its undocking procedure will last smoothly. The oddity on Starliner also caught Elon Musk's eyes. He replied to the tweet of Chris Hadfield and Eric Berger involving the matter by Mark and Icon. Like many others, the saga surrounding the Boeing Starliner is also a favorite topic for the SpaceX CEO to discuss on X. On May 6, when NASA and Boeing delayed the launch of the Starliner crew capsule again to check for helium leak, he shared Eric Berger's article accompanied by the tweet. Although Boeing got $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $2.6 billion, SpaceX finished four years sooner. Note, the crew capsule design of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in common with Dragon 1. Too many non-technical managers at Boeing. The saying reflects the huge gap between SpaceX and Boeing in the context of their respective astronaut capsule developments, revealing significant differences in funding, timelines and management approaches. Especially, he emphasized the main culprit for the failure of Boeing is due to too many non-technical managers at Boeing. On June 25, Elon continues to explain about this. The CEO of an aircraft company should know how to design aircraft, not spreadsheets. A technical manager generally oversees the development, implementation and maintenance of technological company systems and processes, including troubleshooting any potential issues. Non-technical managers, on the other hand, tend to be focused on broader aspects of a company like strategic planning, communication and decision-making. Also, in 2022, Musk opined about non-technical managers. I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent. Managers in software must write great software, or it's like being a cavalry captain who can't ride a horse. Of course, Boeing's current woes are not just due to the company, but also partly due to the complicity of regulators. To make it clear, on August 11, an ex-account named Tony Carvalho made an interesting hypothesis. If the companies involved were in the reverse positions, SpaceX in trouble with Boeing coming to the rescue, this would be the leading news story every day. Elon quickly replied, true, as a way of showing his agreement. The topic mentions the unfairness and bias that NASA has spent for its favorite contractor. As you can see, despite of the persistent failures of the Starliner's project, the US Space Agency has still protected Boeing. The cover-up and tolerance of the agency affect the whole ISS. If it were SpaceX, NASA would have been transparent from the start, and they and SpaceX would have quickly come up with a solution, thus reducing the damage significantly. Elon became increasingly critical of NASA's mismanagement in subsequent tweets. On August 25, he wrote, hardly anyone knows that there was a massive effort to block SpaceX from providing astronaut transport for NASA. His tweet indicates the sad reality in the early days of NASA's commercial crew program, the intense lobbying and opposition SpaceX faced from established aerospace companies, particularly Boeing. Boeing, which had a long-standing relationship with NASA and Congress, engaged in lobbying efforts to maintain its dominance and secure contracts for crew transportation. This included campaign contributions and other forms of influence, aimed at persuading government officials about the risks associated with newer entrants like SpaceX. More notably, Boeing's arrogance was evident in the challenging words of former Boeing CEO Dennis Mielenburg in 2017, which later became the laughingstock of the space community. We're going to beat Elon Musk to Mars, Boeing CEO said. Elon Musk responded, Do it. Boeing also quickly replied, Game on. The war of words from years ago was once again dug up as a way to mock Boeing's arrogant attitude. With the tweet, How is it going? Elon replied slyly. The new Boeing CEO is spending time in the factories. That is the right thing to do. Boeing's humiliating failure in the space industry has led Elon Musk to the conclusion about the upcoming path of this giant company. Just as the car companies did not dominate the medium of air, they tried, the aircraft companies will not dominate the medium of space. Musk argues that just as car companies struggle to dominate air travel, aircraft manufacturers will face difficulties establishing a strong foothold in the space industry. As you know, the rocket industry is inherently risky and requires constant innovation, which costs you a lot of money, time and effort. Clearly, if Boeing continues to pursue its old ways of doing cut corner and prioritize profits, it will never succeed. And that just about wraps it up for today's episode. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you next time.