Episode 1611: Dissimilar Redundancy

NASA has tried to get Extra Vehicular Activity Number Ninety underway since June 13th. The first attempt was thwarted by a space suit comfort issue, the second by a water leak that created a blizzard of ice inside the  Quest airlock. Are the Shuttle-Era Extra Vehicular Mobility Units (EMU) or space suits finally showing their age? Also, what about Collins Aerospace and their recent withdrawal from their NASA contract to build the next generation of space suits for the ISS and the Artemis Lunar Program when they indicated back in February that all was going well? We discuss.

On June 17th, the FAA held a virtual public hearing to receive comments concerning SpaceX’s plans to use Launch Complex 39-A and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to support Starship Super Heavy Launches. We discuss what occurred during the session and the fallout from statements put into the record by both Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance.

Talking Space continues our Boeing Space CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test coverage. The team continues to examine the “Starliner is Stuck at the ISS” misconceptions and asks what NASA & Boeing Space could have done to alleviate such headlines. We also look at a detailed explanation posted on Twitter from Jim May, a Boeing Engineer who was part of the NASA-TV coverage, of why “Calypso” remains on the ISS. The basis of his discussion comes from the actual NASA flight certification plan. Heather Smith mentions the observations of a NASA flight director and his assessment of how Starliner performed during its first actual safe-haven exercise. 

All this and more in this edition of Talking Space!

(Recorded July 5th, 2024)

Host: Larry Herrin

Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, Heather Smith