NEW Starship Genius Orbital Refueling! SpaceX New Launch License Flight 5...

all right so spacex's Starship spacecraft isn't going to be able to make it all the way to the Moon never mind Mars all by itself to get into orbit then then continue on its Journey each Mars or moonbound Starship is going to have to meet up in orbit with its brethren in order to fuel up for the journey beyond Earth this is a mission that has never been attempted in the history of space exploration but spacex's orbital refueling method for Starship is not only groundbreaking but also astonishing to the entire scientific and technological world all will be revealed in today's episode of alphatech and before we get into the meat of today's content we want to tell you first of all thank you so much for watching this channel these last three years right now we've getting very close to the 100,000 sub mark But to achieve this we humbly ask for your help if you're watching these videos every day make sure you hit that subscribe button and that way you'll never miss out on any of our exciting content and it also gives you the motivation to keep creating these videos for you to watch every day all right space lovers let's continue the most important fundamental design goal of Starship is full and Rapid reusability propellant being the only thing intentionally expended during launches however the overarching purpose of Starship is to support spacex's founding goal of making humanity multiplanetary and building a self-sustaining City on Mars and to achieve this Monumental feat soon SpaceX must first undertake NASA's mission to the moon so the company will not only have to build the most easily and rapidly reusable rocket and spacecraft in history but it also needs to master orbital refueling besides the processes of launching and Landing Rockets to achieve inspace refueling Starship needs to meet three critical and essential conditions docking in space maintaining propellent at cryogenic temperatures and transferring the fuel between spacecraft each of these challenges must be overcome to ensure the success of long duration missions beyond Earth orbit first is docking this is perhaps the most straightforward of these challenges given spacex's extensive experience with Docking operations at the ISS starship's refueling operations will involve docking two massive spacecraft in Orbit One acting is the tanker and the other is the Depot or Mission vehicle while Starship is larger than current spacecraft the docking process benefits from the fact that SpaceX controls both vehicles allowing for precise alignment and engagement systems spacex's history of successfully docking cargo and crew vehicles to the ISS provides a solid foundation for these operations next is propellant cooling this presents some more intricate challenge particularly due to the cryogenic nature of the fuels involved Starship uses liquid oxygen and liquid methane which need to be kept at extremely low temperatures 90.2 Kelvin for locks and 112 Kelvin for methane maintaining these temperatures in the vacuum of space where Heat Can't easily dissipate is difficult the risk is that without proper cooling the propellant could boil off reducing theem missions fuel supply to address this SpaceX is exploring passive coin techniques such as specialized surface Coatings and controlled spacecraft orientation to minimize solar heating additionally NASA's Research into cryogenic fluid management including the use of cryocoolers provides valuable insights cryocoolers are Advanced Refrigeration systems that can prevent boil off by maintaining the propellant at stable Ultra cold temperatures as demonstrated in applications like MRI machines and space missions finally propellant transfer and microgravity is another hurdle on Earth gravity naturally separates liquid from gas in a tank but in space without gravity propellants tend to float freely and that makes transfer difficult to address this techniques like olage thrusters are used these small thrusters create a slight acceleration pushing the liquid fuel to the bottom of the tank so it can get pumped out effectively another proposed method involves cooling the receiving tank so that the pressure difference forces the propellant from one tank to another a technique NASA has successfully tested in ground-based experiments and partially in space with missions like the robotic refueling Mission rrm3 NASA's historical and ongoing Research into cryogenic propellent management underpins some of the current understanding of these Technologies the rrm3 mission flown to the ISS back in 2018 successfully demonstrated long-term cryogen storage although a hardware failure prevented the demonstration of inorbit methane transfer despite this the mission validated key Concepts needed for orbital refilling such as zero boil off storage and that shows shows that with continued development these Technologies are going to be viable for future missions overall the technical challenges of orbital refueling are formidable but not insurmountable with spacex's approach their Rockets can leverage proven techniques while also advancing the level of sophistication in space operations however there are still many questions regarding the number of tanker flights needed for the SpaceX Starship missions with estimates ranging from as few as five flights to as many as 20 or more this variation stems from several factors including the payload capacity of each tanker the mass of the lunar Starship and the specific Mission requirements such as the amount of cargo being delivered to the moon or left behind on the lunar surface while the exact number remains uncertain what is clear is that the success of this approach hinges on spacex's ability to conduct these flights efficiently and reliably in scenarios where only five tanker flights are needed the refueling process appears straightforward and manageable even with current Technologies this lower number as soon as high efficiency in both payload delivery and propellant usage potentially achievable if starship's design meets or exceeds expectations however in more conservative estimates where up to 20 flights may be required the challenge becomes significantly more complex conducting 20 tanker flights within a tight timeline Mission demands a high level of operational capability and reliability from SpaceX each additional flight introduces more opportunities for delays or failures which could jeopardize the entire Mission despite these challenges spacex's strategy of Rapid reuse is designed to mitigate the risks associated with a higher number of tanker flights Starship and its boosters superheavy are being developed with rapid turnaround times in mind aiming for a level of reusability that far surpasses any current space vehicle if SpaceX can achieve its goal of launching and Landing the same Starship multiple times within days or even hours the logistical burden of multiple tanker flights becomes more manageable for example in a scenario where 20 flights are required SpaceX vision of quick reusability could allow for a launch every few days significantly reducing the time and cost associated with each Mission moreover the economics of spacex's reusable launch system are designed to accommodate frequent flights without a proportional increase in cost the key advantage of this approach is that the cost of propellant already relatively low does not scale significantly with the number of flights instead the focus shifts to the efficiency of launch operations where SpaceX has already demonstrated considerable proficiency with its Falcon 9 program the ability to launch multiple Starship flights in quick succession could make even a high number of tanker flights feasible both technically and financially in the past at the time the contract for hls was awarded competing biders blue origin noted that according to spacex's data for Starship an hls variant of the vehicle would require the launch of 15 other Starship vehicles to get it to the moon the first of these would be another modified Starship designed to be an orbiting Fuel Depot it would then be followed by 14 further tanker Starship flights which would only transfer up to 100 tons of propellent per flight for transfer to the Fuel Depot only after these flights have been performed would Starship hls be launched and it would have to rendevu with the Fuel Depot and transfer the majority of propellants approximately 1,200 tons from the depot to its tanks to be able to boost itself to the moon and then break itself into lunar orbit despite such claims being made based on spacex's figures Elon Musk pooed them claiming all such refueling could be done in 4 to eight flights not 16 moreover as of April 2024 and a public address to all company employees Elon reaffirmed that you only need five to six refueling missions for a trip to Mars need about about five or six uh refilling missions for every one mission that goes to Mars yes it's even more ambitious than we thought isn't it but Elon Musk has his own calculations and SpaceX can achieve this with Starship variant that can have extended or even expanded f tank volumes Elon also promised next year we're aiming to demonstrate ship-to ship propellant transfer it's hard to make this not look a little bit naughty uh because its two ships are connected and doing a fluid transfer on the other hand NASA understood that it was accepting a degree of risk when it selected Starship as its solitary lunar lander designed for Artemis 3 and 4 in the hls source selection statement Kathy lutters the former leader of the defunct human exploration and operations Mission director at wrote I acknowledged the immense complexity and heightened risk associated with a very high number of events required to execute the front end of spacex's mission and this complexity largely translates into increased risk of operational schedule delays however the only Alternatives were an overweight dynetics Lander and a blue origin Lander which would need a substantial redesign to achieve NASA's long-term goal of Landing for astronauts on the moon in this context Starship had a significant upside as it far exceeded the hls performance requirements SpaceX claimed that it could deliver 100 tons of cargo to the linear surface which would reduce the operating cost of the Artemis bace camp in addition spacex's $2.9 billion bid was half the price of its competitors's Landers since the company could offset starship's development costs by also utilizing it to launch satellites over the past year SpaceX and NASA have made noteworthy progress with the development of hls Starship the four test flights demonstrate that SpaceX is learning dozens of lessons from each Mission and gradually improving the Rockets reliability in February NASA and SpaceX completed over 200 tests of the docking system which will mate hls Starship to Orion in lunar orbit leaked renderings demonstrate that the hls team is factoring all of these test results into a more robust and capable design for the land the constant activity at Starbase makes people like us feel as if our own lives are just moving in slow motion recently SpaceX secured a beneficial license for the Starship launch and on top of that they completed the stacking of the second launch Tower in record time as we move past mid August the Aerospace community's attention is increasingly focused on early September the time when Elon previously announced the fifth Test Flight of the Starship spacecraft this launch is crucial for the ongoing development of the entire Starship program marking the first time space will attempt to catch the returning rocket using mechazilla attempting to push the boundaries of Rocket technology even further in a groundbreaking move SpaceX just received a license from the FCC for the Starship program the license is valid from now through February 25th of next year under the purpose of operation section the agency States launch veh Communications for the test flight Mission launching from Starbase Texas the first stage booster will either return to the launch site or perform a controlled water landing this FCC approval marks a major Milestone essentially giving a preliminary nod to spacex's revolutionary booster recovery method however the path forward is not entirely clear yet now it's the Federal Aviation Administration that still needs to weigh in and their decision is is highly anticipated interestingly despite the absence of a formal mishap investigation from the previous flight FAA seems to be taking its good old time this delay could be attributed to the complex nature of spacex's new Mission profile for their upcoming launch the concept of catching a large rocket booster with mechanical arms is unprecedented in the history of space travel if successful this feat would not only give SpaceX an edge over the competition but also had the potential to revolutionize the entire approach to rock reusability while awaiting that next test flight SpaceX has been working on the main component of the super heavy catch Tower also known as the Chopsticks booster 14.1 returned to the Launchpad August 8th after what I believe was a period spent reviewing the impacts of the previous test back in June although it had been on the olm for a while it wasn't until August 16th that we saw the first bold test of the chopsticks with his test tank SpaceX is preparing for a revolutionary step for their fifth Starship flight ensuring they don't risk a 200 ton booster crashing into the Launchpad this time the testing process has been upgraded the mechazilla arms AKA Chopsticks no longer just move in the air they now close tightly around the booster with extended Landing rails creating an impressive spectacle but the most intriguing feature is the new shock absorption mechanism imagine giant cushions designed especially for Rocket the small rail cushions on the arm can extend acting as impact absorbers when the booster lands it's a pretty clever solution to counter the massive inertia of a rocket booster plummeting at incredible speeds not stopping there SpaceX continues to test various scenarios with the Chopstick arms fully extended we witness these dramatic slaps from a powerful single arm slap to a forceful double arm slap causing the booster to shake but stay secure and the good news is that these vibrations are less violent than in previous tests indicating that the new design has gotten an upgrade after a series of test the booster was moved to the Rocket Garden without any visible damage the coming days are going to be huge for assessing the detailed results of these tests whether any changes will be made remains to be seen but they are unlikely to beat that much booster 14.1 is laying the groundwork for a historic Milestone the successful catch of booster 12 during the upcoming fifth Starship flight and this also serves as a valuable lesson for SpaceX which they can apply to Future mechazilla Towers especially the second launch Tower at Starbase that recently finished it structure after completing repairs on their special crane SpaceX quickly finished stacking module 7 August 16th unless than two days later module 8 got stacked and by August 22nd module 9 was perched the top the tower this rapid progress showcases just how quickly SpaceX is moving with all this work upon closer inspection one notices a unique aspect of the tower structure well modules 1 through six each have three floors modules 7 and8 they only got two the design differs from Tower 1 in the laun at lc-39a where there are seven evenly spaced three flarm modules and a top module with only one floor however don't let this difference fool you a quick calculation shows that the total height of the tower is unchanged only the floor layout at the Top's been adjusted this novel Arrangement might stem from some smart technical considerations the reason behind this change could relate to the construction process as the tower gets taller lifting the heavy modules to the top gets more challenging by reducing the size of the two top modules SpaceX has given a clever solution lowering the weight of the sections that need to be lifted to the highest point while still maintaining the necessary overall Tower weight moreover we also see improvements in the tower stacking time it's unbelievable that in just 41 days less than a month and a half SpaceX completed the stacking of the second launch integration Tower at Starbase compared to previous Tower builds this is a big advancement but this isn't just a speed record the modules were also constructed potentially 6 to n months faster than those for olet one when it got stacked Elon celebrated this achievement by sharing stunning images of the second laun tower the caption The Two Towers however it also has another meaning that we can understand more deeply Two Towers well that's the second part of the famous Trilogy Lord of the Rings followed by the third part Return of the King elon's message suddenly hints that the massive Starship rocket is akin to a King suggesting that we are soon going to see the spectacular return of fully reusable Rockets yes please from here we can see that nothing is impossible for SpaceX and if I remember correctly there were times when public opinion did not trust elon's way of building the tower but now take a look at this SpaceX building the foundation and stacking the tower in nearly 90 days too fast and amazing during this period there's also doubt about spacex's plan to catch Rockets using the tower in the nearly three years since Elon first tweeted about the effort to catch the super heavy booster with the tower's arms it's hard to imagine how exactly it could be done done but just for that reason it was worth SpaceX going through all this trouble to build this amazing machine they devised a method to land the Falcon 9 rocket vertically on its legs a feet no other Aerospace company has done even after its initial success back in 2015 the first stage of Falcon 9 made history by Landing perfectly on Solid Ground at Cape Canaveral a milestone never been done before just a few months later April in 2016 the first stage of Falcon 9 hit another groundbreaking Moment by successfully landing on a drone ship position in the ocean for the first time why does SpaceX even want to do these things even though they're already at the top Elon clarified it on December 30th 2020 responding on X as he often does when asked if super heavy would land like a falcon 9 Elon replied we're going to try to catch the super heavy booster with a launch Tower arm using the grid fence to take the load well people speculated the booster would be too tall and heavy for legs Elon explained legs certainly weren't but the best part is no part the best step is no step in essence he's saying they could take the easy route but he's intentionally choosing the more challenging path and there's good reason for this Elon added saves mass and cost the legs and enables immediate repositioning the booster onto the launch Mount ready to refly in under an hour if the super heavy were to land on the pad like the initial Starship tests bringing it back to the launch Mount even if nearby would be a big undertaking it would require a mobile crane and the large tank tread transport vehicle used its Starbase for Rocket movement the process involves the crane lifting the booster placing it on the transport moving the entire setup to the launch Mount using the crane once more to return the booster to the Mount and then driving both machines back to the hanger Landing legs are not only heavy expensive and complex but they can also be fragile and require a lot of maintenance for instance Falcon 9 comes down with a lot of force and although SpaceX uses a crumple Zone called Crush cores and the legs to absorb the energy they still need replacement after each Landing while this isn't a big problem for Falcon given the refurbishment needed for kerosene Bur engines for Starship and super heavy designed for rapid reusability and clean burning methane engines can't afford the time for inspections and leg refurbs especially at elon's Envision launch Cadence of three launches a day per booster so that's why Elon built the launch Tower it was just his way of taking rocket engineering to the next level and also making Starship construction even cheaper even renewable used more and more effectively as SpaceX is gradually moving towards launching the final prototypes of the Starship V1 version of the rocket the Curiosity of most space enthusiasts is now focused on the Starship V2 version an upgraded version promising design changes that will optimize many functions for future launches kicking off this new version is Starship 33 which has been quite busy with activities in the mega Bay ship s33 marks a significant transition in the Starship program initially it was intended to just be the first second stage prototype of the V1 version but was later converted to the new V2 version this resulted in a unique situ situation where s33 has or will have two versions of most of its parts a V1 version then a V2 version the Assembly of s33 started July 13th when the V2 payload Bay was brought out for stacking notably at this time the bay did not have a door the next day the V2 nose section was brought out and stacked on top of the payload Bay July 22nd after getting moved to the high Bay the new payload bay door was installed and two days later the entire stack payload Bay in nose section were moved to the Pez dispenser installation stand in meabay 2 this stand's been put in place since July 19th work continued through August 24th when the top section of ship 33 was officially installed onto the tail section that had been moved in earlier that afternoon it's fascinating to watch these stacking activities in mb2 they could easily close the doors for this but it's cool that they keep it open during these times so essentially ship 33 was completed August 24th in total the assembly process of s33 took 41 days from the start of stacking the nose section in payload Bay in the high Bay on July 14th to the completion in meabay 2 August 24th this assembly process highlights the complexity and scale of the Starship project the transition from V1 to V2 designed during production requires considerable flexibility in manufacturing and assembly processes it also reflects spacex's rapid iterative approach to developing and improving its Vehicles just think what other company could use a little over a month to build at least one rocket only SpaceX of course this is certainly not the final form of ship 33 as it's still still lacks the Raptor engines which will certainly be the newest Raptor 3 engines we recently saw at spacex's production facility one pretty cool thing we saw was while monitoring the Assembly of ship 33 was the appearance of something new possibly an internal change in the Starship V2 variants the first sign is three shiny tubes running along the edge when we zoom in they look like small transfer tubes this seems like an essential component that needs to be specially produced for the tanks known as a downcomer each rocket needs at least two main tanks one for propell one for oxidizer due to the tall cylindrical shape of the rocket one tank sits above the other the bottom tank directly supplies the engine right below it while the top tank needs a way to feed fuel down to the engine this is usually done via a downcomer which runs through the center of the bottom fuel tank then connects to both the engine and the upper fuel tank interestingly the downcomer of ship 33 we see is completely different why are there three tubes perhaps this is the design for the second version of Starship with each tube separately delivering methane to three vacuum engines as for the large brown cylinder in the middle it looks too heavy for a flight device right however this could easily just be a support structure helping to lift the entire system into the tank more easily during install inside the seemingly Rusty support cylinder could be a thicker downcomer used to supply fuel to all three c-level Raptor engines at the same time having separate tubes for each vacuum engine would allow for better propellant stability an earlier warning if any tube run dry this change could be related to the new three Raptor engines which will be equipped on the second state ships the Raptor 3 consumes fuel faster than any other Raptor engine requiring a faster fuel supply this new design might be aimed at delivering more fuel to each engine increasing thrust it could also address issues with propellent stability although this has never been a problem on previous ships it seems like Raptor 3 is so Advanced that even the ship needs to be upgraded to match this is a promising step forward showing the Starships being increasingly refined and perfected we might wonder why the upper part of the central tube is much lower remember the strange funnel hanging down from the common Dome we saw last week it'll hang much lower to connect with this tube these are interesting changes alongside the external changes we already knew about for those who might have forgotten the differences currently observed on s33 which are expected to set the standard for future V2 ships include but are not limited to First a shorter payload Bay the reduction from five to three rings for the payload Bay is a big change this combined with the addition of one ring to the V2 body results in a total of three additional rings for propellant this change indicates SpaceX is prioritizing increased fuel capacity which could be aimed at extending range or enhancing the ship's payload capacity secondly new flaps the new forward flap design is related to improving aerodynamics or controlled during re-entry this will also help increase the landing Precision or enhance heat resistance next is the new thermal protection system this is a completely new manufactured heat shell that doubles durability and beneath this layer of tiles is an ablative material layer lastly the installation of the Pez dispenser installing the Pez dispenser after the nose cone and payload Bay stack due to the Pez dispenser being partially inside the nose cone also makes more efficient use of space in addition to the aforementioned propellant increase we are really looking forward to when SpaceX is ready to test what's believed to be the upgraded version of the Starship when do you think they'll start testing s33 let us know down there in the comments while Starbase is busy the Florida missions with Falcon 9 also have no time to rest especially Polaris this private mission of a billionaire in collaboration with SpaceX will be the first to perform a space walk at a record-breaking altitude in history the mission is scheduled to launch early Tuesday morning sending four people to orbit for 5 days aboard a crew Dragon spacecraft this quartet will go farther from Earth than any human since the Apollo days and two of them are going to do the first Space Walk ever conducted by a private Mission here's a summary of what to expect during the spectacular Polaris on spacewalk which you can watch via spacex's webcast the spacewalk or extra vehicular activity Eva will take place on the third day of the mission SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn team have not yet announced the target time the Eva will feature two of the four crew members Commander Jared isaacman the billionaire Tech entrepreneur who funded and organized Polaris Dawn and Mission specialist Sarah Gillis an engineer at SpaceX but the other two astronauts Mission specialist Anna Menan also a SpaceX engineer and pilot Scott kid petite a former lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force will Dawn their Eva suits as well that's because crew Dragon doesn't have an airlock so the capsule's interior will be exposed to the vacuum of space the entire Eva operation from initial venting to the repressurization of the capsule take about two hours isman said during a press conference last Monday the actual space walking component will comprise perhaps a third of that time according to Mission team members isaacman and Gillis will Space Walk sequentially not together and each will likely spend 15 to 20 minutes outside the capsule isaacman said that both crew members would fully exit crew Dragon but don't expect anything too fancy or dramatic like Ed White's iconic spacewalk in 1965 the first ever Eva by an American astronaut during which white dangled far away from his Gemini capsule on a 23 foot long tether the Ed White photo is historic but I think as you know Buzz Aldren told us that's not the way to do an Eva isaacman said on Monday adding he and Gillis will always aim to maintain at least one point of contact with the mobility AIDs that SpaceX made for the mission we're not just going to be up there floating around he said isaacman and Gillis will tick off a number of Milestones during their time outside crew Dragon it'll look like we're doing a bit of a dance and that's what it is we're going through a series of test Matrix on that suit ISAC been said the idea is to learn as much as we possibly can from the suit and then get it back to the engineers to inform future suit design Evolutions indeed the Eva suits which basic developed in- house are not one-offs for a Polaris Don alone the company intends to use them or future versions of of them on a variety of missions in Earth orbit and Beyond it's not lost on us that you know someday it might be 10 interations from now and a bunch of evolutions of the suit but that someday someone might be wearing a version of that which might might be walking on Mars isaacman said and it feels like again again a huge honor to have that opportunity to test it out on this flight Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions in the Polaris program which isaacman is both organizing and funding if all goes according to plan the third Polaris flight will be the first ever crude mission of Starship the enormous vehicle that SpaceX is developing to help Humanity settle the moon and Mars old expensive and complex are relics of the past meanwhile new affordable and efficient are Hallmarks of progress this contrast is epitomized by the Starship and space shuttle the latest advancements in starship's heat shield and welding techniques have not only surpassed but arguably embarrassed NASA's shuttle in terms of innovation and effect iess although it's undeniable that the space shuttle was an iconic symbol of the US for over three decades by the time Starship came out the space shuttle had become just a name it's not an exaggeration to say this because with spacex's rapid development to a level that's just impossible to ignore it's not going to be long before they attain Perfection however even as they gradually improve their technology SpaceX has managed to embarrass NASA with their advancements in heat shield and welding technology first let's talk about heat shield technology when the space shuttle or Starship was being developed special insulating materials had to be created to protect the spacecraft and astronauts from the extreme cold temperatures of space and the intense friction forces during re-entry and that can cause temperatures at certain points to rise to about 3,000 Dees fenit the solution from both NASA and SpaceX was a combination of materials known as the thermal protection system or TPS for short however for a TPS to work effectively it needs to be integrated with several different factors one of the key being to Mak spacex's Starship heat shield Superior to NASA space shuttle and that is first and foremost through the shape of the spacecraft Starship significant Dimensions result in a larger radius of curvature during re-entry which in turn pushes the intense heat generated by the shock wave further away from the vehicle's surface this reduces the thermal load on the spacecraft making it easier to manage the extreme temperatures encountered as it comes back to Earth a bigger spacecraft can distribute heat more effectively lowering the risk of localized hotspots that could lead to structural damage another advantage of Starship is just simpler geometry all versions of Starship have a uniform cylindrical shape and that allows for easier application of the heat shield tiles on the other hand the shape of the shuttle had to be set up so it could Glide like an airplane as well as act like a lifting body while falling through the upper atmosphere therefore it had a complex curvature in all three dimensions there were a large number of things control services wheel wells radio antennas inspection hatches sensors and so forth that had to p penetrate through the heat shield and this added some complications worse still to keep that weight low they used thinner tiles where the heating was less and in places of extreme pressure like the Leading Edge of the Wings they used heavy molded reinforced carbon carbon sections instead of tiles there were four different kinds of tiles with acronyms hrsi F frci TFI and L RSI and three more kinds of insulation that were not tile based for upper surfaces FIB B RSI RCC f RSI and then finally there were Gap filler strips that were wedged into gaps for wheel wells and such which would fall out when the wheels were lowered the end result was that no two of the 31,000 tiles on the shuttle were of the same shape type or thickness every single tile had to be manufactured specifically for its location as you can see in the photo they were all individually numbered and a vast number of people were employed to install inspect and replace broken or missing tiles some kind of tiles were extremely fragile and if you dropped one or even just put a little too much pressure on it to put into place you could damage it and a new unique copy of the tile would then have to be manufactured as a consequence even the best tile installers could only manage to install about two tiles a week wow talk about slow if a critical tile were lost while in orbit there's no possibility of carrying a replacement tile and fixing it up there in space because they were all different of course it can't be denied that spacex's modern engineering methods are among the the most advanced most of the surface of Starship is covered with identical hexagonal tiles which simplifies the manufacturing process especially since they're attached automatically making any repairs way quicker and cheaper of course there are certain areas where smaller or more curved hexagonal tiles are needed but their number is insignificant compared to the total of 18,000 heat shield tiles the tiles are deliberately installed with small gaps between them and they're designed to expand to fill those gaps as they're heated upon re-entry gaps between the tiles are also well tolerated because of the small amount of remaining propellant in the fuel tank cools the steel beneath and uses a hexagonal pattern rather than the more rectangular Arrangement on the shuttle and that prevents Jets of super heated air following a straight line path between a row of tiles replacing a damaged or missing tile can be done in a matter of minutes by a guy on an elevating work platform they also clamp the tiles onto small steel pins welded to the Rocket's frame to increase their sturdiness rather than relying solely on adhesive like m a space shuttle as for the placement of the heat shield tiles the shuttle tiles were much more vulnerable than those on Starship because they were put side by side with a huge tank operating at cryogenic temperatures which was covered in foam that was prone to detaching this meant that the shuttle tiles were often hit with big chunks of ice and Frozen Foams that could break large numbers of them Starships put a top the booster and the tanks don't reach such low temperatures so no foam is used and Ice formation is less likely and if it does it's not going to hit the tiles besides starship's use of stainless steels for its construction also gives thermal benefits stainless steel has a much higher melting point and better heat resistance compared to the aluminum used in the space shuttle structure this allows Starship to endure higher temperatures without the need for an overly complicated thermal protection system the material also gives structural strength enabling the spacecraft to withstand the stresses of launch and re-entry with less risk of deformation or damage meanwhile the shuttle thermal protection system requires meticulous inspection and frequent tile Replacements after each flight due to the vulnerability of its aluminum structure aluminum can lose half its strength at temperatures around 200° C and can rapidly and catastrophically melt when exposed to excessively High temps Starship on the other hand well that's made of stainless steel and that can withstand temperatures of around 700° C before losing half its strength this makes the issue of thermal protection a lot easier to manage starship's heat shields pretty impressive and that's not all recent improvements by SpaceX and Elon have made it even better after starship's fourth launch Elon decided to replace the entire old heat shield with a new one that's twice as durable while the exact composition of these new tiles is unknown it's likely that they're made from a type of ceramic Matrix composit CMC similar to the old TFR SE tiles but with new materials added to enhan durability these new tiles are often prone to cracking or Detachment additionally elon's introduced a new ablade of material placed right under under the new heat shield tiles though only in key areas that are likely to get exposed to those extremely high temps this helps Starship maintain its weight while still providing effective thermal protection it's not just starship's heat shield that might embarrass NASA the starship's welding also sticks out recently an oig report highlighted welding joints that failed to meet NASA's specifications according to NASA officials the welding issues arose from Boeing's inexperienced technicians in inadequate planning and oversight of work orders the lack of trained and skilled work Force increase the risk that Boeing will continue to produce parts and components that don't comply with NASA's requirements and Industry standards we can't put all the blame on Boeing but NASA Engineers overseeing this rocket Mission must also bear some responsibility in fact welding issues related to the core stage of the SLS were made public as early as October of last year and it's unclear why these issues have not yet been fully fixed so when comparing spacex's starship's welding to others no one can match its quality not even SLS currently you can Starship spacecraft that are Sleek smooth and shiny of course the welds are visible but compared to earlier versions this represents tremendous progress to achieve this SpaceX has gone through many different welding techniques initially SpaceX used flux Coral welding for the construction of early Starship prototypes this method while effective for a basic structural assembly had limitations in precision and resulted in welds that were prone to cracks and corrosion these issues were compounded by the fact that the welding was often performed by welders without specialized rocket experience leading to inconsistent quality to address these issues SpaceX transitioned to tip TIG tungsten inner gas welding a more advanced technique that allowed for cleaner deeper welds with less warping tip TIG welding provides greater control over the welding process reducing the risk of defects and enhancing the overall structural Integrity of the spacecraft further Innovation came with the adoption of laser Welding which SpaceX uses for many sections of the Starship Las welding offers precise control over the heat input allowing for deep penetration into the metal with minimal Distortion this technique enables entire segments of the Starship to be welded in just a single pass significantly speeding up the construction process while maintaining high standards of quality and consistency NASA has decided that Butch and sunny will return with crew n next February uh and that Starliner uh will return uncrewed yes this is the exact final decision made by NASA by their agency's administrator Bill Nelson regarding the fate of the failed Starliner spacecraft and the two astronauts stranded on the ISS once again dragon is NASA's savior fortunately the decision was made just as space enthusiasts like you and I had hoped the two astronauts deserve to have their safety assured rather than being put in a dangerous situation up there in space on a August 24th an official review was conducted to determine whether NASA considers Boeing Starliner spacecraft safe enough to return home with the crew or if spacex's crew Dragon spacecraft would need to step in help to the situation this is an issue that NASA's been talking about for several weeks since the problems with the Starliner have increasingly shown clear consequences although Boeing had previously attempted test to identify the root cause the issues it appears that even with additional time they were unable to gather more data and the situation could have gotten worse after conducting a test to disassemble and recreate the faulty thrusters of Starliner NASA felt genuinely concerned according to Steve Stitch their director of the commercial crew program he said I would say the White Sands testing did give us a surprise it was a piece of Teflon that swelled up and got into the flow path and caused the oxidizer to not go into the Thruster the way it needed to that's what caused the degradation of thrust when we saw that I think that's when things changed a bit for us so when NASA presented this finding to the Thruster Manu manufacturer AET rockety the Thruster company said they'd never seen this phenomenon before at this point the agency's engineers began to accept that they were not confident enough in the physics to be certain that the Thruster issue would not happen during Starliner return to Earth ultimately the decision was made for Boeing Starliner to return to Earth unmanned and the two astronauts who took the spacecraft into orbit during the test flight would come back in a capsule manufactured by a competitor SpaceX despite previous assurances that Stylin was going to complete the mission this means that spacex's crew9 mission will now be reconfigured to carry two astronauts instead of four this adjustment will leave two empty seats for Williams and Wilmore on the crew 's return flight the astronauts will also join the crew9 team becoming part of the official ISS Expedition with this transition Williams and Wilmore will stay an additional 6 months the duration of a regular mission of the space station the shift to crew 9 will push the pairs return to as early as February 2025 in response to this news spacex's CEO Gwyn tweeted on X SpaceX stands ready to support NASA however we can as for Elon he didn't comment on the matter instead he shared a story titled re-entry by renowned journalist Eric berer which discusses the development of crew dragon in competition with Starliner and NASA's secret meeting where SpaceX almost got excluded from the crew contract this reflects his pride in his spacecraft and his desire to show everyone just how crucial spacex's presence is to the space industry these days the latest result from NASA will be a significant blow to Boeing 10 years ago SpaceX was looked at with skepticism like they were Space Cowboys or something for 15 years in the space industry Boeing was regarded by many in the industry as the aristocracy of space travel while SpaceX was seen as the company that was going to kill astronauts due to its alleged recklessness now the space agency is asking SpaceX to rescue Boeing astronauts currently on the ISS this isn't the first time SpaceX has recently helped out a competitor in the past two years SpaceX has launched satellites for competitor and low worth orbit internet one web after Russia Space Program tightened control over the company they've launched Europe's Galileo Satellites after the Aran 6 rocket got delayed and they've launched the singga spacecraft built by NASA's other space station cargo service provider northr grman multiple times now SpaceX is going to help Boeing a competitor in crude missions so what about the fate of Starliner after it returns in the latest meeting NASA stated that if the uncrewed return goes well they will face an important decision whether to officially certify Starliner that carry humans into space a step that would allow the spacecraft to perform regular flights to orbit even though the fact remains that it did not complete the mission as planned in a statement on Saturday Boeing said it continues to focus first and foremost on the safety of the crew in spacecraft we are executing the mission as determined by NASA and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return Steve Stitch said Saturday that there was a little disagreement between NASA and Boeing in terms of the level of risk it depends on how you evaluate the risk Stitch dead we did it a little differently with our crew than Boeing did Nelson later added that he's 100% sure that Boeing will address the issues and set up Starliner for another crude Mission at some point down the road but in reality don't expect another crude flight with Starliner next year NASA officials said on Saturday that it's still too early to decide whether the agency will require Boeing to conduct another test flight with the Starliner spacecraft or whether Starliner can get put into operation after Boeing fixes the issues with the spacecrafts propulsion system currently NASA has not decided whether to classify the situation involving the Starliner crew test flight as an accident or Mission failure making such a decision could potentially lead to a more formal independent investigation which could delay Starliner next flight under any circumstances one factor that could further complicate the investigation related to propulsion is that the thrusters are located on Starliner service module which will burn up over the Pacific Ocean when the spacecraft returns preventing any further inspection or data collection assuming the investigation does not uncover any additional issues and NASA and Boeing decide to bring Starliner back into operation with astronauts in 2026 the remaining time for the space station as currently planned would not be enough for starlander to complete all six missions under the contract at a rate of one Mission per year it's hard to imagine that NASA would decide to use only Starliner to send astronauts to the space station especially considering spacex's success and the fact that NASA has contracted SpaceX for crude missions through the end of this decade hopefully that will not happen because if there are no more serious problems with Starliner launch we've already grown too weary of all of Boeing's mistakes for example the first Starliner test mission flown in 2019 without a crew misfired an orbit and cut the flight far short of expectations the vehicle did not ultimately dock with the space space station is intended and the outcome was revealed to be a symptom of a myriad of software problems including a coding error that set an internal clock off by 11 hours a second UNC crude flight test in 2022 uncovered additional software issues and the mission teams addressed the problems with some of the vehicle's thrusters however the root cause of the Thruster trouble plaguing the crude Mission got missed two years ago whether Starliner vehicle ultimately becomes certified after its return to Earth will likely become a controversial issue which is considered to be the most dangerous leg of the mission the autonomous vehicle will have to use its thrusters to precisely Orient itself as it plunges back into the Earth thick atmosphere the pressure and friction are expected to heat the vehicle's exterior to roughly 3,000 de F starliners parachutes then have to deploy without issue and slow the spacecraft before triggering airbags to expand and cushion The Landing if Starliner capsule is ultimately certified it could join spacex's crew dragon and making routine trips to the space station to rotate staff if the spacecrafts denied certification however it would Mark yet another blow to Boeing's already badly damaged reputation missing the mark could cost the company many millions of additional dollars on top of roughly one and a. half billion dollars that the company's already recorded in losses on the Starliner program all of us really wanted to complete the Boeing Starliner test flight with a crew and I think unanimously we're disappointed not to be able to do that Bowersox associate admin for NASA's space operation Mission director it said but you don't want that disappointment to weigh unhealthily in your decision Boeing's cost overruns have spurred recurrent rumors that Boeing may not see the Starliner program through Nelson said Saturday however that he recently spoke with Boeing's new CEO Kelly ortberg about Starlin status I told him how well Boeing worked with our team to come to this decision Nelson said and he expressed to me an intention that they'll continue to work on the problems once Starland is back safely and we have our redundancy and our crude access to the space station it is not yet clear however who's going to shoulder the cost of the additional testing and development that may be needed to get Starliner development to the Finish Line Nelson on Saturday reiterated that its deal with Boeing is a fixed price contract which means it's designed to be a one lump sum and then payments don't grow with delays as they do with alternative contracts such as Cost Plus however Nelson added that discussions about how Boeing's will to pay for the additional testing we're not part of his conversation with the CEO I don't have the answer to that nor do I think I would have the answer Nelson said an unprecedented breakthrough in the history of space travel is about to happen next Monday morning SpaceX embarks on its boldest Mission yet for the first time four ordinary citizens not professional astronauts will undertake a space walk Mission by flying into space aboard spacex's crew Dragon this flight marks a huge milestone in opening the doors of space to all of humanity but how will it unfold what risks await the crew and and how is SpaceX ready to ensure their safe first SpaceX spacewalk Mission launches in a week this will be epic Elon proudy declared while sharing the latest announcement about the launch which is sure to bring us new surprises of course it all has its reasons first announced in 2022 Polaris Dawn is the first experimental and developmental mission in a series of three under the Polaris program which Isaac men stated will Undertake and Fund in collaboration with SpaceX the crew includes billionaire Jared isaacman or retired Air Force pilot Scott kid petite and two of spacex's top space operations Engineers Anna Menan and Sarah Gillis the flight's scheduled for the morning of August 26th and as of this video that's only 4 days away while previous space missions funded by a wealthy entrepreneurs might conjure up images of self-indulgent Joy rites polaron is an experimental Mission designed to push those boundaries the ultimate goal of Polaris is to take the first steps towards validating the technology that SpaceX will need someday to send humans deeper into space including setting a record for Earth orbit altitude with an apog of 1400 km conducting the first commercial spacewalk using extra vehicular activity Eva suit designed by SpaceX demonstrating starlink technology aboard the dragon conducting about 40 experiments from 20 partner research institutions so after launch players Don will take an elliptical orbit extending up to 870 mi from Earth this takes him into deep into the inner region of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt which starts at an altitude of around 600 mil according to NASA the belts an area where high energy particles from the Sun are trapped and interact with the Earth's atmosphere creating two dangerous radiation belts almost immediately after getting into space Polaris donur will begin the process of pre-breathing to prepare for The Space Walk it's kind of like what divers do to avoid decompression sickness also known as the bends crew members must Purge nitrogen from their blood so that when the dragon capsules deess pressurized and exposed to the vacuum of space gases don't form bubbles in their blood a potentially fatal condition we don't have an air log on this Mission Gillis said referring to the areas on board the ISS that serve as decompression Chambers for astronauts heading out for a spacewalk Polaris Dawn will instead take a really novel and different approach to the pre-breathing processes that involve slowly decreasing cabin pressure and raising oxygen concentration Gillis the lead engineer for space Ops at SpaceX and the person who trained the expiration for crew for their mission mentioned that this process would take about 45 hours close to two days unlike any pre-breathing process on the ISS eventually on their third day in space Polaris Don crew will open the hatch of the crew Dragon when they're about 435 miles from Earth all four crew members along with the entire interior of the spacecraft will be exposed to the vast emptiness of space however only isaacman and Gillis will actually step out of the spacecraft tethered by a few umbilical courts from beginning to end Polaris Dawn will expose the crew to greater risk than other orbital space tourism missions including SpaceX missions that transport paying customers to the ISS or orbit Earth at an altitude of around 250 Mi the biggest difference between the Polaris Dawn Mission compared to other missions is that we feature the first private space walk for more than two and a half years SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn crew have been prepping for this Mission overcoming numerous challenges to better understand NASA spent many years trying to find a viable replacement for the old bulky white space suit used on the ISS however ricean noted that spacex's suit does not include primary life support systems or the plss which is essentially a backpack that allows the ISS astronauts to float more freely in space to do those complex tasks like repairing and replacing Hardware outside the Station instead Polaris donw receives life support from long tubes that are connected to their spacecraft then there's the issue of the crew Dragon itself to ensure the spacecraft's avionic systems or the electron used for navigation and communication could survive the heavy radiation environment encountered during the Polaris Dawn Mission Engineers actually strapped many of the avionic systems to a stretcher and took them to a cancer lab isaacman said isaacman mentioned that the SpaceX team bombarded the avionics with radiation until they failed in order to precisely determine when and how this technology might break down let's hope it doesn't according to Menan when the crew Dragon spacecraft is exposed to the vacuum of space components inside the spacecraft might release toxic substances a natural characteristic of some materials used to make various parts when the cabin is repressurized after the spacewalk to prevent that crew dragon and many Hardware components on the vehicle underwent a pre-flight baking process this means that it reduced a lot of those toxic substances before the flight said Menon a leading space operations engineer at SpaceX who will also serve as the crews medical officer this baking process involved placing the vehicle in a high temperature vacuum chamber allowing the hardware to release toxins before the flight according to Menan SpaceX also deployed an automatic restart software which can fix computer malfunctions that might occur due to radiation without human intervention so how did SpaceX manage to minimize risks for the mission as much as possible of course carrying out such a novel mission in under three years is extremely fast by Aerospace standards going faster is not necessarily more risky ricean a former NASA astronaut said referring to the rapid speed of development extensive ground testing that SpaceX has carried out taking large risks in testing when the consequences of failure are low results and reduced risk later when the consequences of failure are high but you should be nervous about this Mission he added anytime you try something for the first time they going to be risks I'll feel much better when they're back inside with a hatch closed and locked after the spacewalk SpaceX teams tried to mitigate risks and prepare for every potential challenge through a barrage of tests some as simple as putting a handrail into a freezing chamber has set the Nega 90° C to see how cold to the touch a ladder might be when exposed to space isaacman said they even took the space suits to a testing site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico there the suits were struck by small pieces of debris traveling at orbital velocities to see how they could withstand the micrometeorites and avoid punctures that would endanger the crew according to isaacman objects in orbit around Earth travel at more than 177,000 M an hour adding to the pressure to perform a perfect spacewalk is the fact that time will be extremely limited because the crew is going to have to lean heavily on oxygen supplies during the pre-brief we got five six days maybe you can stretch it of life support on the vehicle isaacman said so you have to really be sure where you have fault tolerance and redundancy in your systems you got to be sure about the weather for the splash down to earth speaking to the challenges the crew will face Isaac man added sure there's more risk in a development program than going to and from the ISS but not a lot more risk and some risks are just frankly unavoidable isaacman said that while he and Gillis in turn won't be free floating outside the spacecraft he said they'll fully exit the vehicle during The Space Walk he said during the operation they will be well above where the hatch is we have a hands-free demonstration where it'll only keep our feet engaged in a Mobility a and we're not just going to be floating around isaacman said it takes a lot of effort to move in a suit when it's pressurized what really looks like heavy clothing becomes super rigid when pressurized so you want to be very deliberate in your movements you want to make a good use of Mobility AIDS G in mind who came to SpaceX following a decades long career at Nasa said it's been a fun process creating the suits and now being on the cusp of seeing them used in practice he described the process as leveraging Knowledge from NASA and then we push it a little bit further in other areas making sure to share Lessons Learned along the way this pace of development that we get to do at SpaceX is very much like the development that was required back in the early apoll days gon Meer said we're getting a chance to do that again where we're really starting to push Frontiers with a prim sector and learning new things that we would not be able to learn by staying in the risk-free environment here on Earth it's time to go out it's time to explore it's time to do these big things and move forward bowling Starliner nothing more than a joke its first crude test flight not only failed to achieve its goal but it's left two astronauts stranded in space so what's the real reason that caused all this has NASA finally realized spacex's dragon is a gazillion times better than Starliner while there have been many articles covering NASA's poor management and the handling of the issues what we should be more concerned about is the disaster caused by Starliner that has left two astronauts stranded on the ISS as the head of a major Aerospace company Elon Musk is always concerned with such matters he replied true in a tweet on X why is there not more media attention to this debacle I have a hunch that companies involved were in Reverse positions SpaceX in trouble with Boeing coming to the rescue this would be the leading news story every day that's true even a minor issue with one of spacex's uncrewed projects gets a ton of attention from the company let alone a man Mission that's been delayed for this long however to date what we're seeing more are the silences as the involved agencies like NASA and Boeing are forced to make game-changing decisions The Silence about the astronaut situation and the core issues that caused the incident is becoming more and more noticeable and this largely reflects the differences between Boeing and SpaceX SpaceX under the dynamically leadership of Elon Musk has built an image of a groundbreaking Innovative company willing to take calculated risks this management style combined with a significant success of the Dragon spacecraft in NASA's commercial crew program has helped SpaceX become a focal point of media and public attention on the other hand Boeing with its long history and more traditional approach is often less transparent even when facing challenges like those encountered with Starliner this highlights the growing shift in the Aerospace industry where emerging companies like SpaceX are challenging traditional contractors like Boeing on the other hand there are legitimate reasons why Boeing's being cautious with its updates first it's due to underperforming Starliner itself to be honest the issues with Starliner are not unfamiliar to us in fact it's face numerous problems from tests in 2019 2020 and 2022 this raises the question of whether Boeing's pushing forward with the spacecraft despite not fully resolving past issues of course this would be a barrier to Boeing being comfortable with public publicly disclosing the root causes of Starliner failures in contrast spacex's dragon has been highly efficient successfully sending over 53 astronauts to the ISS it's not that Dragon hasn't faced issues but the Swift handling by spacex's engineering team is evident as Dragon continues to launch regularly secondly being open is difficult for Boeing due to the differing visions and motivations of the two giants in the space Market Bo he's got a solid reputation and has developed close relationships with government agencies like NASA however this can also lead to a mindset focused on maintaining contracts and maximizing profits from government funded projects this approach while ensuring Financial stability May reduce the drive for Innovation and risk-taking in contrast SpaceX founded with elon's personal vision of colonizing Mars represents a new business model in the industry their motivation is not just profit but also achieving major goals in space exploration the difference is evident in how the two companies approach their projects SpaceX often sets Higher Goals Embraces failure as part of the learning process and quickly adapts based on results goinging with its more traditional corporate culture tends to be more cautious prioritizing stability and adherence to established procedures finally there's the expertise of CEOs David Calhoun and Elon Musk SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticized Boeing CEO David Calhoun accusing him of lacking the expertise needed to lead an aircraft company musk argued that the CEO of an aircraft company should know how to design airplan not spreadsheets indeed this is a reasonable argument considering Calhoun has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Virginia Tech but lacks any technical background this becomes even more prominent as Boeing struggles to bring its Starliner spacecraft back from the ISS due to helium leak affecting its propulsion systems in other words Boeing's not only struggling significantly with its Aviation Electronics division but even its cursed spacecraft project continues to face difficulties perhaps elon's right in suggesting that a new leader has been needed for quite some time under Calhoun's leadership boeings faced multiple crises including 2737 Max 8 plane crashes that resulted in 346 deaths and an emergency landing due to a cargo door that popped open since then several whle blowers have come forward accusing Boeing of lacking safety standards Calhoun now resigned with many agreeing musk and Boeing need a leader with technical skills Emirates president Tim Clark has said Boeing needs a strong technical leader and a governance model that prior prioritizes safety and quality however finding a new head capable of addressing Boeing's many challenges is not an easy task several candidates have declined Boeing's offers reflecting the tough Mission ahead but ultimately Robert Kelly ortberg a longtime Aerospace veteran has taken on this new role starting August 8th it remains to be seen how ortberg will adjust to Boeing so for now we'll wait and see either way NASA will fully support Boeing as it does not want SpaceX to dominate the launch market officials don't want SpaceX to win contracts for that competition and they are also providing opportunities for other entities to participate in major programs however the bottom line here is that most are struggling to meet the fixed price contract requirements or if they do their performance is unlikely to surpass SpaceX the shift from traditional Cost Plus contracts to fix price contracts helps NASA save money by eliminating cost overruns and delays thus stimulating the market this means that suppliers can own the vehicles and sell the vehicles to various entities including NASA however the timing of this effort is quite sensitive as the Aerospace industry is only just entering the commercialization phase major traditional Aerospace contractors like Lockheed Martin Boeing and northr Gman are very familiar with Cost Plus contracts which give him time and Financial Freedom in particular Boeing's Wall Street style leadership often prioritizes profit over quality and reputation making traditional contracts their gold mine therefore it's understandable that this change May weaken those companies leading them to reassess their participation in future fixed price contract competitions northp CEO Kathy Warden stated in August last year we are becoming even more disciplined in ensuring that we work with the government to use fixed price contracts appropriately another area of potential interest is the private companies that NASA is eyeing they're hopeful that these new unicorns with Innovative mindsets will thrive in the fixed price contract environment ironically the rocket Market is incredibly tough and any new company will need wealthy backers to heavily subsidize their operations like blue origin with Jeff Bezos or SpaceX with Elon at the very least they must demonstrate that the company will generate sustainable Revenue to attract investors last but not least they must have Smart strategies to survive and thrive during this harsh transition period creating significant differentiation from long-established traditional companies spacex's approach represents the most complete and upto-date understanding of how to launch rockets effectively thanks to this SpaceX is thriving within NASA's commercial space ecosystem to catch up with SpaceX these unicorns can leverage the advantage of being successors by observing Falcon 9 and learning how it's done standing on the shoulders of giants is also a strategy SpaceX employed during its early wild Days by learning from NASA's space shuttle program how to build heat shields analyze failures and Implement appropriate Solutions however to break spacex's dominance the key is not to compete with them on their own terms someone should do something fundamentally different although this doesn't always guarantee success this is where startups with UniQue Ideas come into play like spin launch with its massive accelerator technology or Sierra space with its minispace shuttle Dreamchaser as for Boeing starlander it has become outdated and lacks the power of competition perhaps NASA is still favoring Boeing Starliner in order to only protect its own reputation 10 years ago NASA contracted billionaire Elon musk's relatively new rocket company and Boeing to create a commercial space taxi Market the agency paid SpaceX only 2.6 billion and the latter got $4.2 billion at the time it made sense to award Boeing a heftier contract the company had already begun work on a spacecraft and had experience working closely with NASA going all the way back to the project mercury in the late 1950s those close ties were reiterated as recently as a month ago By Dana Weagle NASA's International Space Station program manager who reminded reporters about Boeing's role in the space station itself this isn't the only Boeing built spacecraft will operate from Houston's Mission Control she said we are looking forward to Starliner but we're also really proud to be operating the ISS which is the longest continuously operational spacecraft in human history once the agency retired the shuttle in 2011 NASA was forced to tag along with Russian soy used Rockets from Kazakhstan to get their crew into space that might have been fine but the US was paying upward of 86 million bucks a ride we've not had the friendliest of relationships with Russia particularly recently and the head of their space agency said well NASA can get itself a big trampoline Sven billan an aerospace engineer professor at Penn State said as an American the inability for us to get to space on our own spacecraft was to me an embarrassment the need for Russia to get Americans to space ended when spacex's crew Dragon paused all its tests for certification but NASA never intended to have all its eggs in elon's basket after the Colombia disaster it took two and a half years for the US to return to space plight the agency has wanted at least two vendors so there's always a backup if the FAA grounds one for for any reason their position on the issue remains even as the space station nears retirement in 2031 the need for Plan B became clear last year when a leak on the station forced NASA to consider a contingency of loading all the astronauts in one SpaceX spaceship to get home should an emergency evacuation be necessary if something happens to Dragon God forbid then we're back to asking the Russians for rides bin said I'm not sure that the American public has the stomach for that that's all for today's episode thanks so much for watching and see you next time