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NASA, Boeing clear two technical hurdles for Starliner’s debut crew flight

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Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab and NASA quelled two technical issues on the company’s Starliner spacecraft, including a “design vulnerability” requiring a temporary workaround, to get the capsule back on track for its first mission carrying two astronauts to space, officials said on Friday.

Starliner’s debut crewed mission, a high-stakes test now planned for June 1, was derailed earlier this month by a small helium leak detected in its propulsion system hours before it was due to lift off from Florida. Over two weeks of extra scrutiny found that the leak poses no major risk to the astronauts, Reuters reported. 

“This is really not a safety of flight issue for ourselves, and we believe that we have a well-understood condition that we can manage,” Boeing’s Starliner boss Mark Nappi told reporters during a news conference.

Starliner’s long-delayed first crewed flight, with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore on board, is a final test mission before NASA can certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut trips to and from the International Space Station. It would become the second U.S. crew capsule alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which started flying humans in 2020.

Boeing and NASA’s probe of the helium leak led engineers to uncover an additional issue in Starliner’s propulsion system that NASA’s commercial crew chief Steve Stich called a “design vulnerability.”

Modeling showed that a cascading, but very unlikely, series of issues during a mission could eliminate the capsule’s backup thrusters and render it unable to safely return to Earth. A software fix offered a temporary workaround for the mission, but Boeing and NASA will discuss whether a deeper redesign is needed before future flights, officials said.

“It’s backed by test data, it’s backed by flight data, and the guidance and navigation modeling have reinforced that this technique will work,” Nappi said, adding the astronauts had tested the system after the fix.

That broader issue and ad hoc resolution prompted NASA to call for an additional Flight Readiness Review, an extensive, day-long meeting among agency officials, Boeing engineers and independent analysts to justify Starliner is safe for flight.

Boeing is a longtime NASA contractor that has built modules for the decades-old International Space Station but has never before flown humans into space, a feat that persistent struggles in its Starliner program has made elusive.

Years behind schedule and with $1.5 billion in unplanned development costs, a success with Starliner is badly needed as Boeing reels from unrelenting crises in its aviation business.

Starliner in 2019 failed an attempt to reach the ISS, returning to Earth roughly a week earlier than planned because of dozens of software, technical and management issues that reshaped Boeing’s relationship with NASA.

The spacecraft succeeded in a re-do flight in 2022 to the ISS.

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IEA to establish ministry for usurped land reclamation

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The Ministry of Justice said on Sunday that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree to establish a new ministry under the name of usurped land reclamation.

Currently, the work of reclamation of usurped land is being carried out by a commission.

The commission said in a press conference that 49.7 million acres of usurped land have been identified across the country, of which 3.9 million acres have been reclaimed.

Officials of the commission stated that 36 residential townships in Kabul have been assessed and decisions have been issued on 13 of them.

According to officials, people who have purchased land in illegal townships have all their rights reserved with the commission and only township owners are considered as usurpers.

They also stated that 370,000 acres of land have been allocated for the Kabul New City project and that currently, four companies are involved in this project.

 

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Sirajuddin Haqqani meets with special envoys of China and Pakistan in Kabul

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Acting Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani met with China’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, and Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy, to discuss regional cooperation and diplomatic engagement.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior on Sunday, the meeting aimed to follow up on the outcomes of the fifth trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan. The discussions also focused on preparations for the upcoming sixth round of talks and on deepening political and economic cooperation among the three nations.

During the meeting, Haqqani emphasized the Islamic Emirate’s commitment to fostering strong regional ties. He called for regional understanding and cooperation, especially in political and economic fields, based on mutual respect.

The Chinese and Pakistani diplomats reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to strengthening relations with Afghanistan. They also agreed that the sixth meeting of foreign ministers from the three nations will be held in Kabul.

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Afghan government employees urged to apply diplomacy when commenting about another country

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Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday instructed government employees to refrain from making comments or statements that could hurt a country.

Addressing a graduation ceremony of government employees who passed a specialized diplomacy training course, Muttaqi warned that such negative comments would also harm the Islamic Emirate.

“Try to be careful with your pen. Be careful with your tongue so that no Muslim, no neighbor, no country is hurt. Avoid harming the system and yourself. Sometimes, there are shots that then come back to the hitter. You have to be very careful in this matter. Whatever you say, you have to think about whether it is permissible in Islam? Will it not end up harming another Muslim?”

Muttaqi also emphasized that Afghanistan will not progress if fundamental steps are not taken in the academic field.

“If we do not take steps in the academic field, do not educate ourselves, do not work hard, do not know about the world conditions, do not know about the customs of the homeland, do not know about our past history, we cannot build our future. We need a lot of work in our home and each department needs a professional. If you gather all the members of your family, you cannot treat a child with fever until you see a doctor. You cannot build a bulb. You cannot make clothes. Therefore, every field has its own professional and this society needs them,” he said.

Muttaqi also called on the graduates to strive to enhance their knowledge and to guide the future path of Afghanistan towards development.

 

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