NASA panel calls on SpaceX to maintain focus on Dragon safety after recent deviations

WASHINGTON — A recent series of anomalies at SpaceX has prompted a warning from a NASA safety panel to stay focused on the safety of crewed flights.

At an Oct. 31 Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) meeting, Kent Rominger, a former astronaut who serves on the committee, reviewed a list of “recent issues” with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft which he said served as a reminder to remain vigilant as the company ramps up the number of missions.

The problems he mentioned included: the failed launch of the Falcon 9 in July when the second stage failed to perform a second burn, grounding the rocket for about two weeks. Another engine anomaly in the upper stage about the Falcon 9 launch of the Crew-9 mission on September 28 during a deorbit burn, the vehicle was also grounded for two weeks, with the exception of one mission. Falcon 9 launches were also briefly halted in August when a Falcon 9 booster was lost in a droneship landing.

“Looking at the recent incidents over the past few weeks, it’s clear that working safely requires a lot of attention to detail as hardware ages and the pace of work increases,” he concluded. “Both NASA and SpaceX must continue to focus on safe Crew Dragon operations and not take ‘normal’ operations for granted.”

Rominger added that both NASA and SpaceX will need to be careful that the fast pace of operations does not cloud their judgment to ensure that the right level of attention to detail and the right time and resources are spent on thoroughly understanding the root cause and implementing corrective actions.

Neither he nor other members of the panel made specific recommendations regarding the unrelated issues surrounding those Falcon 9 launches. His discussion also included observations with Crew Dragon parachutes during the Crew-8 landing on October 25, such as the “lagging” behavior where one of the four main parachutes opens slightly slower than the other three, which he said “runs in the family falls from expected expectations’. performance” for the system.

He did support the move by SpaceX and NASA in July to move Dragon splashdowns from the Florida coast to near the California coasta move intended to better control the return of the Dragon’s tribal portion, parts of which survived the return from previous missions. “It appears that this is a very good change, providing benefits for both safety and Dragon recovery operations,” he said.

SpaceX has been “incredibly busy” this year, Rominger noted, and another panelist noted that the level of activity has benefits. “At this operational pace, we also have a gift,” said Charlie Precourt, another former astronaut. “It’s a challenge, but also a gift in terms of data, so we better understand how the systems are performing.”

The panel also discussed the recent Starliner crewed test flight, which ended when NASA decided to leave astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the International Space Station and return the spacecraft unmanned.

Rominger did not provide any new technical insights into the problems with Starliner’s thrusters and helium leaks in his overview of the mission, but did commend NASA for its analysis of the problems and decision-making process. That work was done “in a very inclusive way,” he said. “The fact that many people were willing to speak up was significant in itself and representative of a healthy safety culture.”

ASAP President Susan Helms emphasized this point at the end of the meeting. “This has not been an easy process, as we personally observed,” she said. “NASA has clearly demonstrated the hallmarks of a healthy safety culture, and we applaud NASA for ensuring that their cultural approach has led to the right risk management outcomes.”

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