NASA Chalks 61 Corrections For Boeing Before Next Liftoff

NASA has increased its dependence on private space agencies like SpaceX, Boeing, and others with the Commercial Crew Program. While SpaceX has already sent a couple of equipment to ISS, Boeing is still struggling with its Starliner. A recent hiccup with the Boeing Starliner failed to dock the spacecraft with ISS. Now, NASA has come up with corrective actions.

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NASA Reviews Boeing

After reviewing the mission and why it failed to dock, NASA and Boeing have chalked out 61 corrective actions needed to be taken before the Starliner can liftoff again. Looking back, Boeing's first commercial crew capsule named Calypso, successfully launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and landed safely.

The initial trip proved that the design of the spacecraft was space-worthy. However, it began experiencing elapsed timing errors during the flight and caused the thrusters to experience an intense period of thruster activity that burned through much of the spacecraft's fuel.

Looking at the premature burn, the mission controllers decided to put on hold the ISS mission and bring Calypso home. When they scanned the mission data, they noticed three major anomalies, including software coding errors causing loss of space-to-ground communications, contributing to the error.

NASA-Boeing Independent Review Team

Following the discovery, the NASA-Boeing Independent Review Team was created to investigate the errors. They have discovered several issues, both technical and organizational regarding Boeing's work. The NASA review team has identified several areas where improvements are needed.

According to a blog post by NASA, 61 corrective and preventive actions are needed to address the software anomalies. This includes performance code modifications, where Boeing will review and correct the coding for the mission elapsed timer and service module disposal burn. Followed by improved focused systems engineering where Boeing will strengthen its review process including better peer and control board reviews, and improve its software process training.

NASA has also suggested improved software testing to increase the fidelity in the testing of its software during all phases of flight. Lastly, to ensure product integrity, including testing the software coding as hardware design changes are implemented into its system design.