Joey Roulette

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Boeing (NYSE) Co is fighting Aerojet Rocketdyne as it races to test-launch the Starliner capsule uncrewed and repair its name in the space industry, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

CST-100 Starliner’s May 19 launch is planned atop an Atlas 5 (NYSE:) 5 rocket towards the International Space Station. Boeing wants to demonstrate to NASA that the spacecraft will be safe for astronauts. A similar uncrewed 2019 test flight was canceled due to software failures.

Three people spoke under anonymity to say that the mission represents a significant step in restoring Boeing to its status as viable competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. However, this drive is complicated by Boeing’s discord with Aerojet, which supplies propulsion systems to SpaceX.

Chicago-based Boeing is at odds with El Segundo (California-based Aerojet) over the root cause of an issue involving the Starliner propulsion systems fuel valves. The problem caused the postponement last July of a test flight. Both companies blamed each other, sources claimed.

Boeing has been reporting the disagreement for the first time. This comes just as it is trying to get out of successive crises which have crippled its jetliner operations and depleted cash.

Boeing’s troubles with Starliner cost the company $595m in fees since 2019, and the Aerojet dispute represents the latest example. Boeing is now facing fixed-price NASA contracts, leaving it with very little financial flexibility. The company continues to test Starliner.

In a statement to Reuters, Boeing acknowledged the fact that the valve system for Starliner will eventually be redesigned in order to prevent another issue like the one that caused the postponement of test flights last year. Boeing said in a statement that they are making short-term and long-term modifications to the valves.

13 fuel valves, which are part of the propulsion system that steers Starliner into space, were found stuck in their closed positions. This led to last year’s postponement.

Starliner’s initial flight without people on board has been delayed by technical issues. This puts it behind Musk’s SpaceX. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule was developed in the same NASA program that Starliner. It’s already flown five crew members for the U.S. Space Agency.

NASA believes Boeing will be able to provide more options for astronauts traveling to the station. SpaceX was awarded three additional missions by NASA to cover the delays in Boeing’s March mission.

Boeing engineers and NASA engineers are in agreement that stuck valves can be caused by a chemical reaction of propellant and aluminum materials, and moisture intrusion from Starliner’s Florida launch site.

The Aerojet lawyers and engineers see the situation differently. Two sources claim that Boeing used a cleaning agent in its ground tests.

Aerojet representatives declined to comment.

‘ROOT CAUSE’

Boeing claimed that the “testing to determine the root cause” of the valve issue was complete. Aerojet stated in a statement that the work didn’t find the issues.

NASA agrees with this view according to Steve Stich of NASA, the SpaceX and Boeing crew program managers. He spoke out for Reuters.

Boeing said Aerojet also failed to comply with its contractual requirements regarding the resilience of the propulsion system against chemical reactions.

Boeing wheeled Starliner back from the launch pad last week ahead of its upcoming launch. The company had swapped the propeller system for one that was temporary to prevent moisture seeping into the valve sections.

NASA and Boeing both claimed that they didn’t recreate fully stuck valves in nine months of testing. Instead, NASA measured the extent to which the valves were unable to open.

According to two sources, this approach was employed to return Starliner quickly to the launchpad.

NASA, Boeing Aerojet, and other independent safety advisers will be meeting this week in order to make a final decision on the source of the problem and determine whether temporary solutions can work.

Two sources claim that Boeing officials view Aerojet’s explanation of the defective valves by Aerojet as an attempt to shift responsibility and avoid having to pay for a new valve system.

Aerojet claimed that Aerojet was making it laughable. This statement came from an anonymous source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect supplier relationships. It’s impossible to get a propulsion system supplier or valve manufacturer to say, “Yeah, that was me!”

NASA officials confessed that Boeing was too trusted when they decided not to trust them enough and instead gave more engineering oversight to SpaceX.

Aerojet’s feud isn’t the first Starliner subcontractor dispute. Starliner was involved in an accident that occurred during a 2017 ground test. This caused the president of another subcontractor to need his leg amputated. Boeing settled the matter after the subcontractor filed suit.