It's a Complicated Business
In an effort to compete with SpaceX for a share of the commercial space transportation business, Boeing has been developing their own system to transport crew and cargo. Hello, Ken Baxter here! Having escaped the heat in Las Vegas, it’s a beautiful morning in Newport Beach, California and welcome to my story.
It’s been nearly a year since I became the first, everyday American to experience the thrill of zero gravity, 90 kilometers above the surface of the earth. The sights, sounds and sensations of that day are with me everyday, part of a textbook launch and safe landing. My trip to space was part of an 18 year journey of exhilarating success and tragic failure until the spacecraft was completely safe for travel.
The Starliner craft, behind schedule and over budget, with Astronauts aboard, docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6, 2024. During the planned 10 day mission, former Navy test pilots, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams were to perform a series of tests needed to achieve operational crew certification.
Unfortunately, the same issues that caused a planned launch in May to be aborted, the Starliner thrusters malfunctioned during the docking process in addition to the chronic helium leaks experienced as they reached space. Although they were able to dock successfully, the craft has been stranded since that day, not expected to return til some time in August.
The engineers at NASA and Boeing have been feverishly working to bring the crew home, including hot fire testing of new thrusters in the New Mexico desert. Meanwhile, the Space Station guests are assisting the crew when needed, waiting for their ride home. The test flight crew is in our thoughts and our prayers for a safe return as soon as possible.
Ken Baxter, signing off and thank you again for stopping by. Don’t forget to visit KenBaxter.com, Green Global and WeThePeople.com for additional updates and interesting content, and I hope to see you again real soon!
