Pad Abort Test of Boeing's Starliner Spacecraft, Nov. 4, 2019

TESTING 1...2...3🚀 Boeing put its #Starliner’s launch abort system to the test on Monday, Nov. 4 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, lifting off at 9:15 a.m. EST. The test demonstrated the spacecraft’s ability to protect Commercial Crew Program astronauts by carrying them safely away from the launch pad in the unlikely event of an emergency prior to liftoff.

[chloeshowalter]

I'm so proud of my mom for this amazing project. She has been away from home off and on for about 3 years. So happy my little brother was a success!!

[ajdavis]

She said those cameras track missile tests, I don't think so. Each camera tracked different parts of the sky with a hint of capsule

[highvoltagefeathers]

Okay so parachute lines on fire, one parachute fell off, and it lands in a cloud of propellant that is toxic and hypergolic with (ignites spontaneously on contact with) spacecraft, emergency personnel, and astronauts.


Fun stuff.

[maxmac]

camerawork a bit shaky considering the known trajectory.

[noliver]

NASA: make the test video public and live
Boeing: *grumbles* Fine. *selects shakiest video possible*
NASA: no, it's supposed to get people _excited_ about space! 🤦‍♂️

[andrewy]

Like I get that tracking a moving rocket with a camera can be difficult, but even the astronaut interview footage is unstable. How is it possible that Boeing doesn't have a quality camera stand?

[RayJerry]

So the poisonous red toxic gas test went perfectly, congrats NASA!!😁

[kcconnor]

Why was there a nearly 4 second delay between T minus 0 (ignition) and actual movement? That seems awfully high latency for a launch abort system.

[rogue]

So now since the 3rd chute failed to open, I'm assuming we get to watch this again in the near future

[Strike_Raid]

2 chutes? I thought there were supposed to be 3, but data on 2 may be even more valuable.

[moonfakery]

Brown smoke is nitrogen tetroxide? Toxic, a crew can’t leave the craft, a rescue team can’t approach to save the crew. Something needs to be done about this.

[TananBaboo]

Anytime something doesn’t go “as designed” it should be a concern. Even if there is redundancy.

[peterwmdavis]

That cloud of hydrazine drifting right next to the crew capsule doesn’t look very safe at all. Even if the real thing would splash in the ocean, why design the service module to come down so near?

[speedball]

Last time I saw that much hydrazine was the Proton explosion

[SL-vwpm]

Wow turned this on and got an amish engineer and a supermodel engineer. Great Mix.

[DTHRocket]

The red cloud of death. Leave it to the government....

[jamestheotherone]

and... a new hazmat site is born at WSMR....

[aarne]

Nice review. Very informative with a lot of enthusiasm. I also like the refreshingly original juxtaposition of a super model with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication and a homeless guy as commentators.

[eliaspuolakka]

You can really see the difference when you don't have those rocket tracking camera platforms they have at kenedy SC.

[brett]

Fail! Two main chutes would suffice, but there were supposed to be three. What failed? If the odds of a chute not working is 33%, I wouldn't want to ride it.