Ever since researchers and scientists have made space accessible, it has opened new possibilities for multiple space organizations and companies to experiment with. In addition to that, there exists an unnamed and subtle competition between these companies regarding which one has more milestones and in how much time. Recent evidence of this competition can be observed in the remarks from a Russian space company that it released following the failure of Boeing Starline.
In accordance with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX and Boeing had to launch spacecraft with astronauts into orbit. Till now, only SpaceX seems to be delivering the promise. It has sent astronauts and spacecraft to the International Space Station while Boeing is still behind schedule.
Boeing has experienced failures one after the other and the most recent one is being criticized by many lately. Just before the day of the flight, 13 propulsion valves did not open in the test flight, causing the mission to be aborted. As a result of this, a Russian-based space company, Roscosmos seems to be criticizing the company by offering to fix the spacecraft for Boeing as they cannot do so themselves.
Boeing was supposed to deliver the spacecraft in 2019 but even in 2021, it is not ready to deliver its commitment. According to NASA’s safety review panel, the test flight of 2019 was dangerously failing and even this year, the test flight showed an appalling sight.
However, Roscosmos is not entirely a success either. in one of its flights, the Nauka module of the ISS accidentally fired its thrusters. This posed a solemn safety threat as well. Hence, both companies need to work on the safe functionality of their propellors.