Astronaut escape system tested at White Sands
Two of three parachutes allow safe landing after launch
Boeing’s capsule for astronauts underwent its first major flight test Monday, shooting a mile into the air then parachuting back to the New Mexico desert.
The Starliner capsule carried no crew, just a test dummy for the 1½-minute shakedown of the launch abort system at White Sands Missile Range. Only two of the three main parachutes opened, but both NASA and Boeing said astronauts would have been safe if aboard.
The abort system is designed to provide a fast getaway for a crew, if there’s an emergency on the Florida pad or in flight. The test was conducted in the same location where NASA tested the abort system of the Orion crew capsule it is developing for its deep space program, Boeing
Commercial Crew Program spokesman Josh Barrett told the Albuquerque Journal.
For its next test, Boeing plans to launch a Starliner to the International Space Station next month, without a crew.
All three astronauts assigned to the first crew flight — targeted for next year — were present for Monday’s test.
“We hope we never need to use this system,” NASA astronaut Mike Fincke said. “But in case we ever have any trouble aboard the beautiful Atlas V on the launchpad, we know after today’s test that we’ll be able to get off safely.”
SpaceX — NASA’s other commercial crew partner — successfully launched a Dragon capsule to the space station in March. That capsule carried a test dummy and supplies; SpaceX aims to put astronauts on board sometime early next year. Boeing also is shooting for an early 2020 launch of astronauts to the space station.
Whether SpaceX or Boeing, it will be the first time Americans launch into orbit from the U.S. since NASA’s last space shuttle flight in 2011. U.S. astronauts have been hitching rides on Russian rockets, costing NASA tens of millions of dollars per seat.
During Monday’s test at the missile range, Boeing counted down to zero, then the Starliner’s four launch abort engines fired. The capsule, launched from a test stand, accelerated about 650 mph in five seconds flat.
The capsule soared nearly a mile into the air and a mile downrange, before the parachutes and then air bags inflated seconds before touchdown. Only two of the three big red, white and blue parachutes deployed, but both NASA and Boeing said that was acceptable for test purposes. The issue should not delay the next test flight, company officials noted.
“We are thrilled with the preliminary results, and now we have the job of really digging into the data and analyzing whether everything worked as we expected,” NASA’s commercial crew manager, Kathy Lueders, said in a statement. Next up is the orbital test flight. NASA and Boeing are targeting Dec. 17 for the Starliner’s launch aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral. The plan is for the capsule to remain at the space station close to a week before heading for a touchdown in the western U.S. Barrett said White
Sands Space Harbor runway, site of a space shuttle landing, is a potential landing site. If that is the case, people may be able to view the crew capsule making its descent with its parachutes open from U.S. 70 near the national monument, Barrett said.
Boeing is using a ground landing. The Starliner will be the first U.S. crew capsule to return from orbit to solid ground. SpaceX’s crew capsule splashes down in the Atlantic, like NASA’s old Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules. Two areas at White Sands will be used as preferred landing sites, according to Barrett, including the Space Harbor site and a site on the northern part of the missile range.
If the upcoming orbital test goes well, Boeing will follow with the crew test flight.
“It’s starting to feel really close,” said NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, who will be on that first crew.