NASA's NEW Spacecraft just passed a very important test, ready to beat SpaceX...Musk laugh!

well well well as spacex's Dragon prepares for its first Space Walk Boeing's Starliner just tested its parachute system however better late than never this is a huge milestone for NASA's next spacecraft to fairy humans and cargo 2 and from the ISS after a small modification to the main parachutes soft links which connect the suspension lines to the Riser extensions Engineers set out to prove the system in a realworld test on a remote drop zone at US Army Yuma Proving Ground on January 9th parachute deployment and a soft Landing of the test article were visually confirmed preliminary analysis of data for this two parachute test suggests the primary test objectives were met the drop test which used a Starliner parachute system attached to to a dart shaped sled the same weight as a Starliner was performed to confirm the functioning of a redesigned and strengthened soft link joint that is part of the network of lines connecting the parachute to the spacecraft the test also validated a charge to strengthen one textile joint in the parachute increasing overall parachute robustness as with other capsules Starliner relies on parachutes to land safely when it returns to earth a C130 car aircraft from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia carried the test article and parachutes high above the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona before releasing them engineering team's CFT astronauts Butch Wilmore Sunni Williams and Starliner 1 astronaut Mike fin watched from the Drop Zone below the Starliner main parachutes were lifted from the test article using flight like pilot parachutes before inflating fully to slow the test Dart to the same soft Landing velocity experienced by the star liner spacecraft in Flight the Starliner parachute system consists of two forward heat shield parachutes two drogue parachutes and three pilot mortar deployed main canopies but for the test only two of the main parachutes were deployed the system is designed so it can operate with only one drog or two Mains and still meet all its requirements said James McMichael senior technical integration manager with Nas's commercial crew program they can tolerate a drogue or a main parachute failure dozens of personnel were present in the isolated Drop Zone where the dart was dropped miles away however other Personnel were directing all conditions of the test from a mission control center the Personnel in the control room have multiple views of the test item from ground and aerial-based cameras flown on Chase aircraft on this day a pair of Blackhawk helicopters they can communicate with the ground and air Crews and see air traffic from other tests on monitors we were trying to run a stress test which is much much easier to get on a dart because the dart will fall a little faster than a capsule will said McMichael for the test objective the dart was the right vehicle and dropping it from a C130 was the right test technique the dart was dropped from a NASA C130 cargo plane flying at an altitude of 13,000 ft at 145 knots air speed the dart was extracted from the cargo bay on a pallet then separated from the pallet and slowed by two Dro parachutes used as programmers followed by two of the Starliner main parachutes deploying the two 104 ft diameter main parachutes with Kevlar risers attached to them slowed the hurdling Dart down to a landing speed of less than 24 mph once landed ypg and NASA Personnel fanned out across the Drop Zone to carefully recover the deployed parachutes as the packed parachutes made the Journey Back to the air delivery complex where they were suspended from a high ShakeOut Tower and inspected workers from YG's motorpool used used a large crane to lift the massive test Dart onto a lowboy trailer for transport back to NASA's least hanger at Yuma International Airport engineering teams will continue to review the results inspect the test parachutes and work to complete system certification in the weeks ahead in the meantime NASA and Boeing are proceeding with preparations for Starliner to carry astronauts for the first time to the International Space Station during the crew flight test currently slated to launch no earlier than mid April on Mission lasting about 10 days this was the last of a long series of tests that we've been running for the Starliner spacecraft we needed to verify a couple of changes we made to the main parachutes to clear the way for the upcoming crude flight test later this year James McMichael said indeed this was the problem that caused the Boeing Starliner delay last year the company had been targeting July 21st for the first ever crude launch of its Starliner capsule on a mission known as crew flight test which will send NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams on a ShakeOut cruise to and from the International Space Station in early June of the same year however Boeing and NASA announced that cft's liftoff had been delayed indefinitely due to newly discovered issues with Starliner parachute system and its wiring with the latest test hope has been brought back in anticipation for Boeing to fix all of Starliner technical issues this is becoming a requirement rather than a minor issue as while Boeing's Starliner grapples with a series of challenges and delays its competitor in NASA's commercial crew program SpaceX has been charting a trajectory of remarkable success in the realm of human space flight SpaceX has been delivering Cargo in space since 2012 and was well experienced in the field by the time NASA decided to send humans to the ISS for further experiments and exploration recognizing the potential NASA began to focus on SpaceX when one provider has a newer approach than the other it's natural for human beings to focus more on that one Steve Stitch manager of NASA's commercial crew program said until now spacex's crew Dragon spacecraft designed with a focus on Innovation and efficiency has completed eight crew Transportation missions to the ISS in addition to the string of successful missions SpaceX has demonstrated a distinct Edge over Boeing in terms of cost Effectiveness the price per astronaut seat on spacex's crew dragon is sub substantially lower than that of Boeing Starliner however according to NASA documents SpaceX charges $55 million per astronaut whereas Boeing comes in at 90 million this cost Advantage has not only solidified spacex's position in the market but also has contributed to a more extensive contract with NASA jumping from the initial six missions to a total of 14 with a contract value nearing $5 billion this has increased the company's market share and brought in substantial Revenue spacex's dominance is evidenced by the fact that well thanks to its Endeavors the United States now boasts a 70% share of the global commercial launch market this significant Market presence has resulted in NASA becoming a significant contributor to spacex's revenue injecting Millions annually into the company on the other hand Boeing's participation in the commercial crew program epitomized by the Starliner project has been a costly Venture both in terms of time and and finances since being awarded the $4.2 billion contract in 2014 the Aerospace giant has encountered a series of setbacks and challenges resulting in significant financial losses with each delay the cost associated with rectifying technical issues conducting additional tests and implementing redesigns have continued to mount adding to the strain on Boeing's Financial Resources despite these Financial setbacks the more pressing concern for Boeing lies in the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Starliner project the prolonged development timeline coupled with the formidable competition posed by SpaceX raises questions about the Project's viability and long-term prospects Boeing is responsible for fulfilling contractual obligations with NASA including six crw missions to the ISS however their future appears challenging especially when the broader question of whether starlander can maintain competitiveness in the rapidly evolving commercial space Market remains unanswered Beyond SpaceX potential Alternatives in the market further complicate Boeing's strategic considerations companies like Sierra space and blue origin though not initially securing NASA contracts are positioning themselves as viable contenders in the rapidly expanding field of commercial space flight Boeing must carefully navigate these market dynamics and assess whether the Starliner project remains a prudent investment amid evolving Technologies and emerging competition well folks that's about it for today's episode thank you so much for tuning in and if you want to support our Channel even further you can hop on over to our patreon through the link in the description below sign up and become a patron today to gain access to exclusive content sounds exciting right any case we still appreciate your generosity and your passion for space exploration as always this is Kevin from great SpaceX and until next time keep looking up