Boeing's Starliner

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

Now it's a time for Dreamchaser to come in.

 

[Mikki]

I really don`t want to crash the party but i`ve heard the ISS grew an appendix. Any chance to get rid of it? Can it be remotly controlled and deorbited? Was the helium used to pressurize propellant? Will it weld itself slowly to the ISS if not removed?

[RCgothic]

I don't know who originally started the "Boeing Astronauts Stranded" line, but it's never actually been the case and it seems like a lot of outlets are just copying the lede and running with it.

Edited 13 hours ago by RCgothic

[Ultimate Steve]

14 minutes ago, RCgothic said:

I don't know who originally stated the "Boeing Astronauts Stranded" line, but it's never actually been the case and it seems like a lot of outlets are just copying the lede and running with it.

Yeah. As I understand it, the reason they are keeping it up as long as they are is because they don't understand the service module issues and coming home would destroy the evidence. I bet NASA is enjoying the extra two sets of hands up there. Given that there's only two of that type of docking port, though, that may be a downside. Unsure what was scheduled when, but might cause some scheduling issues.

[kerbiloid]

I believe, both stranded-in-sky astronauts enjoy their unplanned vacation and overtime salary.

[K^2]

13 hours ago, RCgothic said:

I don't know who originally stated the "Boeing Astronauts Stranded" line, but it's never actually been the case and it seems like a lot of outlets are just copying the lede and running with it.

I mean, even if the Starliner was completely DOA, it's not like there is no way to get the crew home. They might be stuck on ISS longer than planned, but you could always work the rotation of the future launches in a way that gets them home soon enough, and lets the normal schedule resume shortly thereafter. Back when the Soyuz was having issues, people were even talking about adding extra seats to the dragon, which it's been designed to handle at least on paper, so something like that would be an option in a genuine emergency.

It's just fun to poke fun at Boeing, and how they're trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing a little too hard, given all the RP disasters they're in the middle of. If it weren't for all the other problems the company has been having, we probably wouldn't even be discussing this beyond the, "Oh, they're going to take a closer look at what's up before heading home."  And yeah, I don't think anyone currently aboard the ISS minds the mission extension. It's not like there's nothing to do or the crew is stuck alone without resources.

[Mikki]

14 hours ago, K^2 said:

...snip... It's not like there's nothing to do or the crew is stuck alone without resources.

Can someone elaborate to me if the chinese could dock to the ISS ? Is it the same standard as soyuz? 

How many dockingports are there? I can count four. Am i stupid?

[K^2]

8 hours ago, Mikki said:

Can someone elaborate to me if the chinese could dock to the ISS ? Is it the same standard as soyuz? 

How many dockingports are there? I can count four. Am i stupid?

Zvezda, Poisk, and Rassvet have docking ports compatible with Soyuz and Progress craft. Pirs used to have one too, but has been decommissioned.

While Chinese spacecraft started out heavily based on Soyuz, I don't know if they would have kept up with any modifications related to ISS and/or went off on their own path for their own station. Keep in mind that it's not just whether or not the ports themselves fit, but everything involved in aligning the two craft together for the docking to happen safely. If the ports themselves are identical, but the alignment guides are installed differently, you're not going to be able to dock. And even if the two systems are completely identical, and you want to take on the risk of manual docking, it's still something entirely untested with any number of potential problems arising.

Honestly, if things were that dire, a better option might be a space walk.

[kerbiloid]

Shenzhou uses androgynous docking system, while the Russian segment is equipped with the extended "hybrid" Soyuzesque one with enforced ring.

Spoiler

On the images above, the adaptor itself looks close to the international standard (derived from Buran), while the original Buran has another set of radial structures (more X-like than the clock-like like here, with incompatible places for cable outlets), so the adaptor itself is probably compatible with the Western segment of ISS.

But the docking targets on the images look having nothing common with the international standard, but obviously look like the Soviet/Russian approaching and docking systems, including the (laser) thing at the bottom, looking close to the Soyuzesque things on the European cargo ships.

So, probably it can mechanically dock to the Western segment, but can approach automatically only to the Russian segment.
So, maybe, it can dock in manual mode.

This again proves, what an outstanding achievement had been performed by Sandra Bullock when it was really needed,

including the fire extinguisher race.