Two astronauts who should have been back on Earth weeks ago said Wednesday that they’re confident that Boeing’s space capsule can return them safely, despite a string of vexing breakdowns. NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule early last month, the first people to ride it. Helium leaks and thruster failures almost derailed their arrival at the International Space Station, and have kept them there much longer than planned.
      • Mirshe@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 months ago

        Killing two government employees in a highly-public incident that potentially people can see over the US tends to be bad for trust in your company, no matter how much of a duopoly they have over the passenger aviation market.

  • Flexaris
    123·
    2 months ago

    And yet they are not returning before more checks are done

    • ticho@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 months ago

      If I understand it correctly, they were confident a while ago already that they could return safely, but they’re taking advantage of the situation to do some tests and experiments to learn more about the failure.

      (If you disagree, go yell at Scott Manley, I heard it in one of his recent videos.)

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
    73·
    2 months ago

    That’s what Boeing claims, a company with numerous ongoing QA issues and deadly failures under their belt in recent years. Would I trust this capsule to bring me home safely? I don’t think so.

    Or is this a “If your landing capsule fails, come in (in person) to claim your free replacement!” thing?