Boeing’s Sticky Situation
Irene Klotz of Aviation Week tweeted some more details on that Starliner incident:
Boeing Starliner launch abort motor leak traced to faulty valves. Four of 8 stuck open following 1.5-sec hot-fire of service module test article June 2. While repair underway, Boeing moving ahead w/ unmanned flight test in 5-6 mos, then launch abort & crew flight tests mid-2019
There’s still some murkiness here. Was the 1.5-second firing the full duration that they were aiming for with this test, or did it shut down early? I’ve heard the latter.