NASA exposes failures that stranded astronauts in space for 9 months

"NASA has completed an investigation into the 2024 Starliner fiasco that stranded two astronauts in space for nine months. The space agency labeled the incident a 'Type A' mishap, the most severe classification of mission failure, it revealed on Thursday. That puts the Starliner test flight in the same category as the Challenger and Columbia disasters, which claimed a total of 14 lives."

"NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said: 'Mistakes occurred from the program's inception and continued throughout execution, including contract management, oversight posture, technical rigor and leadership decision making. 'Boeing built the spacecraft, and from the onset, NASA approved variances and agreed to fly it. As development progressed, design compromises and inadequate hardware qualification extended beyond NASA's complete understanding.' The investigation found both technical and organizational issues that affected the mission's safety and oversight."

"Decisions and pressures before and during the flight contributed to a culture that sometimes prioritized schedule over caution. After the mission, concerns about reputation delayed the formal declaration of a mishap, and the program initially conducted its own review."

The 2024 Starliner test flight was classified as a Type A mishap after an investigation identified serious safety and oversight failures. The capsule malfunctioned during an intended eight-day ISS visit in July 2024, forcing a return and leaving Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on the station until March. The probe cited problems across contract management, oversight posture, technical rigor, and leadership decision-making, and found that Boeing-built design compromises and inadequate hardware qualification exceeded NASA's understanding. Pre-flight and in-flight schedule pressures contributed to a caution-to-schedule imbalance, and post-mission reputational concerns delayed formal mishap declaration.

Read at Mail Online