NASA and Boeing are confident that the valve glitch that grounded Starliner for eight months has been fixed.
called Orbital Flight Test 2 in August 2021. But standard preflight checks shortly before launch revealed that 13 of the 24 oxidizer valves in the propulsion system in Starliner's service module were stuck.
: Nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer reacted with moisture in the air, generating nitric acid. The nitric acid then reacted with the aluminum housing of the valves, creating corrosion products that impeded valve function.That initial diagnosis was on the money, Boeing representatives and NASA officials said during a call with reporters today . And the mission team has successfully addressed the problem in the time since, they added.
The valve fix is a multilayered one. For example, technicians sealed up"a potential moisture path" in the valves' electrical connectors, Michelle Parker, vice president and deputy general manager of Boeing Space and Launch, explained during today's call. The team also now purges moisture out of the valves using nitrogen gas, she said.
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