Space

Faulty connection blamed for Starliner parachute failure

Faulty connection blamed for Starliner parachute failure
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s four launch abort engines and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters ignite in the company’s Pad Abort Test
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s four launch abort engines and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters ignite in the company’s Pad Abort Test
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Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s four launch abort engines and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters ignite in the company’s Pad Abort Test
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Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner’s four launch abort engines and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters ignite in the company’s Pad Abort Test

Boeing has found the cause of the parachute failure that occurred during the recent successful launch pad abort test of the CST-100 Starliner crew module and service module. In a statement, the aerospace company said that the failure of one of the three main parachutes used to return the crew capsule to earth was due to a faulty connection.

On November 4, 2019, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft passed a major milestone, completing a launch pad abort test at Launch Complex 32 at the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Using all four of its Launch Abort Engines (LAEs) as well as its Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control (OMAC) thrusters generating a combined thrust of 190,000 lb, it powered itself to an altitude of 4,500 ft (1,400 m) before carrying out a midair maneuver and returning the crew module safely back to the desert floor.

According to Boeing, the post-flight analysis showed that the spacecraft's systems performed as expected during its 95-second flight. However, while the propulsion, flight, and guidance systems worked according to plan, the trio of main parachutes used to land the crew module suffered a malfunction and one of the chutes failed to deploy. But the two remaining chutes proved sufficient to do the job.

Through closeout photos and direct inspection of the parachutes, Boeing engineers have determined that the problem was due to the failure of a secure connection between the pilot and the main chute on the third parachute. The company says that now that it has identified the fault, it is taking steps to correct it.

The video below recaps the Starliner abort test.

Go Inside the Starliner Pad Abort Test with the Boeing Team

Source: Boeing

4 comments
4 comments
Catweazle
Many years ago an old WWII radar technician gave me an excellent piece of advice - "put your best man on plugs and sockets".

Doesn't look like things have changed much...
piperTom
The failure was "due to a faulty connection"? I think the failure was due to the failure to design a reliable connection. Boeing can fix a faulty connector easily; how will they correct a faulty design process?
Username
How is it a successful test when a major component failed?
christopher
That is a bogus excuse.

Look at 0:29 - they cut away the first failure (only 2 pilots deployed), and the backup failed as well (one of the pilots disconnected) - they had way more problems than they're confessing to!