This Story Was Updated at 4:38 PM On 5/9/24 to include a response from NASA.
“As a valued NASA partner and as valve experts, we strongly urge them not to attempt a second launch due to the risk of a disaster occurring on the launchpad”.
Valvetech President Erin Faville – Wednesday March 8th.
In a public statement reminiscent of warnings by Morton Thiokal just before the Challenger disaster, Valvetech Inc. has warned at least one valve on the Boeing Starliner may be unsafe.
The Atlas/Centaur upper stage valve failure during Monday’s launch attempt comes after a previous separate issue with the Service Module Propulsion system, which incorporates a valve from Boeing’s contractor, Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc. It is unclear what company manufactured the valve that failed Monday.
The Monday, May 6th launch of Starliner launch was scrubbed due to the faulty booster valve with less than two hours left in the countdown. In a later statement, NASA said:
“After evaluating the valve history, data signatures from the launch attempt, and assessing the risks relative to continued use, the ULA team determined the valve exceeded its qualification, and mission managers agreed to remove and replace the valve.”
Valvetech supplies 14 valve components to vendors for the Starliner Spacecraft. Last year, Valvetech successfully sued Aerojet Rocketdyne, one of the Starliner valve contractors, in Federal Court. alleging that Aerojet intentionally and improperly retained and used ValveTech’s proprietary information in the development of Aerojet’s flight valve for the Service Module Propulsion system for the Starliner CST-100 spacecraft. The suit alleged Aerojet Rocketdyne violated two non-disclosure agreements. The alleged violations included “improperly disclosing, retaining, or using Valvetech’s valves, designs, technology, and data.
During testimony in that case, a witness testified that the Aerojet valve was not qualified to the right specifications, and not evaluated to ensure safety protocols, according to the release. Valvetech went on to say that Aerojet has not made any changes to the valve design since that testimony.
Valvetech’s release goes on to state:
“Valvetech continues to question how NASA, Boeing, and Aerojet could have qualified this valve for the mission without supporting data or previous history or legacy information, which in its experience, goes against aerospace industry qualification protocols established by NASA.“
ValveTech PR Neswire Release
” NASA needs to re-double safety checks and re-examine safety protocols to make sure the Starliner is safe before something catastrophic happens to the astronauts and to the people on the ground, ” Valvetech President Erin Faville said .
ULA’s Tory Bruno did not agree with Valvetech’s assessment. In a post on X, Bruno said:
FMN has reached out to ULA and NASA for comment, and will update this story as appropriate.
UPDATE 5/9/24 4:38 PM: NASA provided the following statement to FMN in response to ValveTech’s news release:
“Flying safely is the top priority for NASA. The valve that caused the launch scrub on Monday, May 6, was part of the Atlas V rocket’s Centaur upper stage liquid oxygen system, not on the Starliner spacecraft or its service module. The scrub was called for by the launch team and the valve is being replaced by United Launch Alliance ahead of the next launch attempt.
In early 2024, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program independently performed due diligence related to the Boeing CST-100 Starliner OMAC Isolation Valve design, hardware and qualification testing. NASA’s conclusions were consistent with Boeing’s evaluation and testing of the system, and with other hardware for this type of application and mission use. As with all human spaceflight component systems, NASA will continue to review any safety concerns that arise.”
NASA Public Affairs
