Boeing Starliner FINALLY Returned Back But There Is A Problem!

Boeing Starliner spacecraft recently completed its return to Earth after a problematic mission that was intended to carry the astronauts back from the International Space Station unfortunately due to multiple technical issues the spacecraft was deemed unsafe for human travel forcing NASA to extend the astronauts stay on the space station by several months this event marked a significant moment for Boeing and the ongoing challenges it faces in establishing itself as a reliable provider for crude space missions the mission began on June 5th 2023 when Starliner was launched from Cape Canaveral Florida this marked a key milestone for Boeing as it was the spacecraft's first test flight carrying astronauts Starliner part of NASA's commercial crew program was designed to provide an alternative to spacex's crew Dragon for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS Boeing's contract with NASA was worth 4 .2 billion compared to spacex's $2.6 billion and the company had been under pressure to deliver after years of delays and Technical setbacks soon after launch however Starliner began experiencing issues the capsule suffered helium leaks which are essential for pushing fuel into the propulsion system and several of its thrusters malfunctioned engineers at Boeing and NASA spent months analyzing these issues and attempting to find a solution despite Boeing's insistence that Starliner could safely bring the astronauts back to Earth NASA ultimately decided that the spacecraft was too risky to use for the return Journey as a result NASA turned to spacex's crew Dragon which has already completed nine successful crude missions for NASA this decision extended Wilmore and Williams planned 8-day stay on the International Space Station to 8 months with their new return date set for February 2025 in the mean time SpaceX will launch its next crew Dragon vehicle in September 2023 and Willmore and Williams will return on that spacecraft at the end of its Mission although the astronauts did not return in Starliner the spacecraft completed its Journey back to Earth autonomously on September 16th 2023 Starliner undocked from the International Space Station and began its descent the spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere and successfully landed at White Sand space Harbor in New Mexico Meo after a 6-hour flight parachutes were deployed to slow The capsule's Descent ensuring a smooth Landing the successful return of Starliner even without its crew provided Boeing with some relief after months of technical challenges it was a chance for the company to demonstrate that despite its setbacks the spacecraft could safely return from orbit however the issues with this Mission are part of a larger trend of difficulties for Boeing which has struggled in recent years to repair it its reputation after a series of high-profile failures in both its Aviation and space divisions Boeing's Starliner program has been delayed multiple times over the years the spacecraft's development has been fraught with technical problems leading to several postponed missions Star liner's first uncrewed test flight took place in 2019 but it was unsuccessful due to a software error that caused the spacecraft to miss its intended orbit a second un crw test flight in 2022 also encountered technical difficulties further delaying the program despite these setbacks NASA has remained committed to the Starliner program NASA has expressed confidence that Boeing will eventually resolve the issues with Starliner Bill Nelson the NASA administrator stated that he is 100% certain that Starliner will fly with astronauts again in the future NASA officials have assured that both astronauts are in good spirits and are fully equipped for their Extended Stay in July 2024 a resupply mission delivered additional gear and personal items for the astronauts ensuring they have everything they need for the remainder of their mission while Boeing has managed to bring the Starliner capsule back to Earth safely another Boeing Le project is drawing criticism the space launch system as we all know NASA is no longer building rockets and launching missions on its own these days they rely on contractors to do the heavy lifting instead of building Rockets inhouse NASA funds private companies to develop the technology and carry out these missions unfortunately this doesn't always go as planned and one of the most problematic companies NASA works with is Boeing Boeing despite its reputation as one of the oldest and most experienced Aerospace contractors has consistently underperformed in NASA projects the most glaring example is the space launch system or SLS a rocket designed to carry humans back to the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis program while you might think Boeing's experience would make them the perfect fit for such an important Mission the reality has been far from smooth every Boeing Le NASA project including the SLS has been plagued by delays cost overruns and quality control issues both was given the task of constructing key components of the SLS including the core stage and the exploration upper stage these components are crucial for sending large payloads and astronauts beyond Earth's orbit however their execution has been criticized heavily a 2023 report by NASA pointed out that Boeing's work failed to meet NASA's quality standards issues like faulty welds in the liquid oxygen tank of the rocket have led to costly delays the the space launch system was already criticized for being expensive and not very Innovative even before Boeing's involvement made things worse the rocket is designed to take astronauts back to the Moon however the costs have skyrocketed and delays have piled up especially because of Boeing's struggles with quality control and Workforce issues Boeing was responsible for building the core stage and the exploration upper stage but problems with welds and untrained workers have led to delays and extra expenses what's ironic about NASA's space launch system is that it was supposed to be a direct competitor to spacex's Starship both Rockets aim to take humans to the moon and Beyond but the reality is that the two are Worlds Apart one of the most significant differences between the two rockets is the cost per launch SLS costs over $2 billion per launch largely because it is an Expendable rocket meaning that it can only be used once before being discarded this is a costly approach especially when compared to Starship which is designed to be fully reusable SpaceX has stated that each Starship launch could cost as little as $2 million once operational although more conservative estimates place it at around $100 million per launch even at the higher estimate Starship is still significantly more cost effective than SLS the high cost of the SLS is due in part to to the outdated technology it uses the Rocket's rs25 engines are repurposed from the space shuttle program which ended in 2011 while reliable these engines are expensive to build and maintain in contrast Starship uses spacex's new Raptor engines which are designed to be cheaper lighter and more powerful than the rs25 engines another key difference is reusability Starship is designed to be fully reusable meaning both its super heavy booster and the Starship can be recovered and flown again this significantly reduces costs and allows for Rapid turn around between launches SLS on the other hand is completely Expendable each SLS launch results in the loss of the entire rocket making it a far less sustainable option for future space missions when it comes to Raw performance Starship again comes out ahead the SLS block one has a payload capacity of about 95 metric tons to low earth orbit whereas Starship can carry between 100 and 150 metric tons additionally starship's super heavy booster is expected to generate 72 Mega Newtons of thrust compared to sls's 39 Mega Newtons most importantly the SLS has only launched once in 2022 while Starship has already completed four test launches and is gearing up for another the next SLS launch however doesn't seem likely anytime soon due to the recent issues caused by Boeing's quality control failures if you've made it this far we've got a special surprise just for you we're offering a highly realistic Starship model exclusively for our loyal viewers since you've stuck with us through the entire video that means you're part of the loyal crew so why wait head over and grab your own Starship model now thanks for watching our video we appreciate your time and support and we hope to see you in the next one