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Boeing's Starliner Races to Join SpaceX in the Commercial Space Market · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:06
  Welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast.
• 0:08
  And in today's episode, we're diving into the world of
• 0:11
  commercial space travel as Boeing faces, yet another delay
• 0:15
  for their Starliner, capsules, first mission carrying
• 0:18
  astronauts to space. The stakes are high as the
• 0:21
  company hopes to join spacex's crewed.
• 0:23
  Dragon, in providing NASA approve rides to orbit.
• 0:26
  Now, this delay comes amidst a series of setbacks and Technical
• 0:30
  debates. And in this episode, we'll
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  explore the details and implications of this development
• 0:35
  for Boeing NASA Space, X and the commercial space industry.
• 0:41
  Now, Boeing Starliner capsule initially planned for an April
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  launch has now been postponed until at least the summer of
• 0:49
  2023. This decision follows last
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  minute tests and Technical debates, pushing the mission
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  behind a private astronaut Mission scheduled for May and
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  the Starliner crewed. And represents a crucial moment
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  for Boeing Space Unit as it aims to join.
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  Spacex's crewed. Dragon, as a second Massa
• 1:08
  approved vehicle for orbital missions with the certification
• 1:12
  process taking longer than expected.
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  Boeing is struggling to keep up with Elon musk's SpaceX in the
• 1:18
  growing market for private astronauts flights and the
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  delay. In Star liners, launch has been
• 1:23
  attributed to heavy traffic on the International, Space Station
• 1:27
  and a tight schedule for its launch provider.
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  You Well a and as Boeing and NASA perform additional testing
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  on the spacecraft. Several areas have come under
• 1:36
  scrutiny one such area involves star liners, manual flight
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  system use as a backup in case the automated flight software
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  fails. The focus of this testing is to
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  ensure added redundancy in case of emergency according to a boat
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  in spokesperson. Now another issue.
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  Delaying, the launch is a spacecraft Lithium-ion batteries
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  deliberations about the low chance of these battery's
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  overheating Wild. To the ISS have taken longer
• 2:02
  than anticipated and during a pre-flight technical meeting
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  NASA. Officials disagreed with
• 2:07
  Boeing's players to proceed with the mission steady concerns over
• 2:10
  the batteries. However, they eventually
• 2:13
  conceded that the risk of a battery mishap endangered, the
• 2:16
  crew was low. Now Boeing is now considering
• 2:19
  battery redesigns and the addition of shielding and case
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  of overheating. Now space X, which is already
• 2:25
  flown 7 crewed. Missions for NASA since 2020.
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  I had previously redesigned it spacecraft batteries, as Steve
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  Stitch head of NASA's commercial crew program.
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  Noted quote, of course, they have the luxury of having a lot
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  of battery expertise at Tesla quote referring to musk's
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  electric car company. And despite conducting over a
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  dozen Starliner battery thermal runaway test without any issues.
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  There is been a little disagreement during meetings
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  about how a potential failure of One battery cell could spread to
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  other cells while there have been No test Phil failures.
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  At this point Stitch admitted that sometimes the cell would
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  get quote a little out of balance during past tests.
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  And the battery concerns. An expected upgrades are just
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  part of a growing list of tests and redesigns Boeing must face
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  before entering the operational phase of its NASA contract,
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  which includes six astronaut missions over the next few years
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  and NASA has been overseeing star, liners development, Audrey
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  4.5 billion dollar contract awarded in 18.
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  After an initial uncrewed test flight in 2019 was cut short due
• 3:34
  to software failures, the capsule successfully repeated
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  the mission in 2022. Now Boeing is also planning to
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  redesign A system that separates star liners main crew module
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  from its service module and last year the company chose to
• 3:49
  redesign valves on its propulsion system to prevent
• 3:52
  them from sticking shed prior to launch.
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  Now this decision led to a despite led to a dispute.
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  Shoot with its propulsion system supplier aerojet Rocketdyne,
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  which refused to pay for the redesign a Boeing has since cut
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  aerojet from the redesign process, is now working directly
• 4:10
  with marotta arrow, Jets valve supplier.
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  And as Boeing continues to address these issues and
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  redesigned aspects of the Starliner capsule, the delay
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  serves as a reminder of the challenges and complexities
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  involved in commercial space travel.
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  With SpaceX leading the way in the industry.
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  The pressure is on for Bowing to prove the reliability and safety
• 4:31
  of their spacecraft. And while Starliner, setbacks
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  are undoubtably frustrating for the company.
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  They also highlight the importance of extensive testing
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  and verification and ensuring the highest standards for
• 4:42
  astronaut safety. The competition between Boeing
• 4:45
  and SpaceX is not just about Prestige, but also about
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  securing lucrative contracts for future space missions.
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  And as commercial space travel, because Comes more commonplace
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  the demand for Reliable spacecraft will also increase by
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  joining SpaceX. As a NASA approved, ride to
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  orbit, Boeing stands to secure a significant share of this
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  expanded Market. However, the company must first
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  overcome the, various technical challenges and prove that the
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  Starliner is a Dependable option for human, spaceflight in the
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  future. Now it's worth noting that
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  competition in the commercial space sector can be beneficial
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  driving Innovation, and reducing costs is Boeing and SpaceX vibe.
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  For dominance in the market, it's possible that new
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  technologies and improve systems.
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  Will emerge making space travel safer and more accessible for
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  future Generations. Now, while the delay in Star
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  lenders, debut crewed mission is a setback for Boeing.
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  It's also a testament to the company's commitment to safety
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  and the rigorous testing and verification processes in place
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  for space travel. The challenges faced by Boeing
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  serve, as a reminder of the complexities involved in space
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  travel, the importance of overcoming these obstacles.
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  To ensure the safety of astronauts and the whole future
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  of human space flight. Now, the commercial space
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  industry can expect to see more developments and breakthroughs
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  with companies like Boeing and SpaceX continuing to push the
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  brown, foundries of what's possible.
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  And the road to success, may be full of challenges.
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  But the potential rewards and advancements in space
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  exploration. Make the journey worthwhile now.
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  Thanks for joining us here on the show today.
• 6:22
  I appreciate everybody out there and if If you could, please take
• 6:26
  a second and hit the Subscribe button, on whatever platform
• 6:29
  you're on right now, I'd greatly appreciate the follow.
• 6:32
  Thanks so much, take care and I'll see you in the next one.