KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – DECEMBER 20: The Boeing Starliner launched from Launch Pad 41Friday … [+] morning for its maiden voyage to the International Space Station, as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Could Boeing’s latest failure, the botched launch of its Starliner space vehicle, be what the company needs to finally head in the right direction? At the least, Boeing should take it as a lesson – imperfect as it may be – in how to respond to a crisis.
Boeing’s newest problem came Friday, following a perfect liftoff of the spacecraft. An error in setting an internal clock caused the Starliner to mistime a subsequent engine firing. Instead of a rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station, the unmanned craft became stuck in an unplanned orbit.
The misstep came in the same week as Boeing announced a temporary halt to production of its much-maligned 737 MAX airliner. Hundreds of the planes have been grounded since March after two of the model were involved in crashes related to software failures. And, airlines started telling customers this week not to expect the 737 MAX jets to return to service until at least June.
If there is a silver lining to the Starliner event – along with the fact that no one was injured – it was that Boeing accepted responsibility up front.
Jim Chilton, Boeing senior vice president, Space and Launch Division speaks to the media after the … [+] Boeing Starliner spacecraft, incident December 20, 2019 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Boeing’s Space and Launch division, joined NASA officials and others at a news conference shortly after the misfire to explain what went wrong. Chilton was quick to praise NASA and United Launch Alliance, which provided the Atlas V rocket that launched the Starliner.
Chilton also laid out what happened. “The vehicle was not on the right timer,” he said, simply. “We don’t know why it wasn’t.” No throwing anyone else under the bus.
This differs markedly from what happened after the 737 MAX crashes, where Boeing was slow to accept any responsibility and tried to shift at least some of the blame to others.
The reason for the change in Boeing’s approach may be at least two fold.
First, the whole world was watching. It was clear the launch went perfectly, and the problem occurred with Boeing’s vehicle. It was hard for Boeing to deny responsibility. But it could have delayed its response. That’s what happened last spring when Elon Musk’s SpaceX took two weeks to admit that what it called an “anomaly” involving a ground test of its space crew capsule was really a fiery explosion that destroyed it.
Just as important, probably, was that Boeing has partners whose reputations also are on the line – especially NASA and its administrator, Jim Bridenstine. As the first “non-technical” person to lead NASA, the appointment of the former Texas congressman was controversial.
Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator, and Tory Bruno, President and CEO, United Launch Alliance … [+] (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Bridenstine took pains early on to draw a not-so-subtle distinction between this incident and the 737 MAX. Before three minutes had elapsed in the news conference, he said:
“I want to be very clear about this. We as an agency and our partners at Boeing and [United Launch Alliance] have committed that when there is something that is a challenge we will be very clear and transparent about it, and we will share information as early as possible. We have done that and will continue to do that. It is important for us to build trust with the American taxpayers so that we can continue to do these magnificent things.”
Bridenstine’s comments would have been better had he not opened by saying, “Today, a lot of things went right,” and pushed that narrative a little too much. While true, it came across as trying to manage the news. And, it felt like an unintended/unfortunate dis of the doomed MAX pilots when Bridenstine talked about how the Starliner mishap might not have happened had there been trained astronauts aboard to take over the controls.
But, Bridenstine was out there at the news conference. He didn’t stand behind any NASA spokespeople. This kind of event calls for seeing the person in charge.
Maybe this is the lesson Boeing needs. When you mess up, admit it and fix it. Don’t try to wait it out or blame someone else.
Boeing advertisement in The Wall Street Journal last November.
Boeing
Boeing has failed mightily over the last year to repair its reputation. It has – to its detriment – tried to convince investors the 737 MAX fix would be easy and quick. It wasn’t and hasn’t. It has run full-page newspaper ads and attempted other PR efforts to push along regulators. That has resulted in criticism from the Federal Aviation Administration and others. It even installed a new public relations vice president.
No one is sure what is ahead for Boeing, but it would be a good sign if they admit what a big mess it is in and that it will take a long time to fix it. It’s not like everyone else doesn’t know it already.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
