"Boeing LIED! NASA Finally Revealed What Exactly Happened with Boeing Starliner"

People often refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoings until they have to pay a price for their actions. Yes, Boeing, which has built a terrible Starliner spacecraft, is such a case in point. We are not stuck in space has been a favorite Boeing quote when referring to Starliner's current state under its first crew mission. However, as the Starliner problem worsened with each passing day and cost Boeing millions of dollars a day, the company's confidence plummeted rapidly. This made them officially admit for the first time their mistakes that left the spacecraft and astronauts stranded in space. 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. Are Butch and Suni really stuck on the space station? Let's listen to NASA's latest answer on its website. No, Butch and Suni are safe aboard the space station, working alongside the expedition's 71 crew. They also have been actively involved in Starliner testing and technical meetings. Butch and Suni could return home aboard Starliner if an emergency arises. The agency also has other return options available, if needed, for both contingency and normal returning planning. At the time I made this report, it's been 76 days since NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station. This is significantly longer than the original plan of eight days. The U.S. space agency argues that this doesn't matter because a typical stay aboard the International Space Station is about six months, and NASA astronauts also have remained on the space station for longer-duration missions. Butch and Suni each have previously completed two long-duration stays aboard the station. More notably, they added that everything was well-prepared. Previous missions have given NASA volumes of data about long-duration space flight and its effects on the human body, which the agency applies to any crew mission. The astronauts embark on missions fully aware of the various scenarios that may become reality. This mission is no different, and they understood the possibilities and unknowns of this test flight, including being aboard station longer than planned. Simultaneously, NASA reassures the public that the astronauts have all they need on the station, including food, clothing, oxygen, personal items, etc. And recently, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft carrying 8,200 pounds of food, fuel, supplies, and science, and a Progress resupply spacecraft carrying three tons of cargo arrived at the station. NASA has additional SpaceX resupply missions planned through the end of 2024. Despite the fact that NASA lets things get out of control, it has insisted that the crew was not stranded, they are safe, and they are enjoying their time. Boeing is also confident in the spacecraft's ability to return and is lobbying officials to allow Starliner to bring astronauts home. However, a recent statement from the troubled contractor suggests they are not as confident as they said. Boeing Starliner Program Manager Mark Knappi, yes the man famous for saying, we're not stuck on the ISS, has finally admitted that he wasn't surprised the spacecraft got stuck there, and says he regrets not managing expectations up front. I think we all knew that it was going to go longer than that, he said. We didn't spend a lot of time talking about how much longer, but I think it's my regret that we didn't just say, we're going to stay up there until we get everything done that we want to go do. By saying this, Boeing admitted that they had known potential problems with Starliner that could leave the vehicle stranded in space before it launched. I think we all knew that it was going to go longer than that. Yes, this is something that all of us, except NASA and Boeing, have acknowledged from the beginning. Boeing Starliner has established itself as a job program rather than a space program for a decade. It has continuously faced many technical problems leading to delays, cost overruns, and doubts of the public regarding the way NASA utilizes our tax in the commercial crew program. Given the serious problems, it would be unfathomable why NASA approved the launch of a Boeing-made spacecraft with its crew. Not only that, setting an 8-day timeline for a manned test mission on an underpowered vehicle is unrealistic. Even Dragon's first crew test flight also took up to 63 days. This go-fever comes from an overfocus on a timeline rather than a commitment to getting things done. It's my regret that we didn't just say, we're going to stay up there until we get everything done that we want to go do. Mark Knoppe said. As a result, Boeing paid an expensive price for what it did. Boeing's statement is given during the context that Starliner's extended crew flight test mission has already left a multi-billion dollar hole in both the company and NASA's budget. In Boeing's quarterly earnings report, it registered a $125 million loss related to the ongoing Starliner crew flight test mission. Its return to Earth was delayed to allow time to perform further testing of propulsion system anomalies. This has brought the company's total losses on Starliner to $1.6 billion since 2016. Ironically, while NASA considers this additional time as a good chance to learn about spacecraft, for Boeing it is a financial disaster, especially when the company has been struggling the heavy losses from the space and defense sector. The project manager, NASA has been falling into a more difficult situation given that they have to clean the mess made by its favorite contractor. Everything goes further than what we can imagine. NASA has made a big mistake in letting Starliner take off the ground with the ongoing helium leak. Worse still, during Starliner's flight to the space station, some of the spacecraft's thrusters did not perform as expected and more leaks in Starliner's helium system were observed. A tiny mistake has led to a large consequence. So far, engineers have not found the root cause of the problem. Meanwhile, Starliner is in the high stakes. If its hobbled propulsion system were to malfunction after undocking from the space station, it could spin out of control and even crash into the orbital lab. While they always have a very credible option, which is to order a rescue mission on SpaceX Dragon, in reality, the accompanying problems make them hesitate. If NASA decides to return Starliner uncrewed, Butch and Suni would remain aboard the station until late February 2025. NASA would replan the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission by launching only two crew members instead of four in late September. Butch and Suni would then return to Earth after the regularly scheduled Crew-9 increment early next year. NASA is now making progress on a plan with SpaceX to return Wilmore and Williams on Dragon. In this case, Starliner will come back sooner without crew. But its undocking software requires the coordination of the onboard crew to work smoothly unless we want to see the vehicle spin out of control and collide with the ISS. Additionally, if Starliner can't complete its round-trip flight, debate within NASA will burst out about whether to require Boeing to complete yet another Starliner test flight before clearing the spacecraft for operational missions, as NASA cleared SpaceX to in 2020. It's so weird why the U.S. space agency is determined to maintain its contract with Boeing, despite the serious scandals of the planemaker and the public outrage. Perhaps they want to reduce their reliance on SpaceX Dragon and wait until Sierra Space's Dream Chaser is actually ready. Or they might protect the giant Boeing. Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, highlighted, Our intent is to keep pressing to have two providers. NASA also said, The main goal of the agency's commercial crew program is two unique human spaceflight systems. Should any one system encounter an issue, NASA still has the capability to launch and return crew to ensure safety and a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station. Boeing has always been confident in the acceptable safety of its spacecraft when it comes to bringing humans home. Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew. We continue to support NASA's requests for additional testing, data, analysis, and reviews to affirm the spacecraft's safe undocking and landing capabilities. Our confidence is based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA, Boeing said in a press release early August. And that just about wraps it up for today's episode. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you next time.