The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received positive news regarding their return journey. Earthbound testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been problematic since early June, has been successfully completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the completion of these tests to start planning the spacecraft’s return.
Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded, and the teams are now focusing on data reviews. The goal of the test was to observe thruster degradation to understand why some thrusters ceased functioning in-flight and the potential impacts of returning those thrusters to service for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test.
Several thrusters had stopped working due to helium tanks, which control the thrusters, leaking before and during the Starliner launch, causing multiple delays. Officials mentioned that the ship has enough helium onboard to last 70 hours, although only seven are needed. While they indicated earlier this month that the craft could return immediately if necessary, they are not yet ready for its return.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing mentioned that a return flight could happen by the end of this month. However, the timeline now appears more flexible: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and finalize the flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”