The Boeing CST-100 Starliner team received encouraging news regarding the spacecraft’s return to Earth. The ground testing of its thrusters, which have prevented it from coming back since early June, has just been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the conclusion of these tests to start planning the spacecraft’s return journey.
An update released recently noted, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The aim of the tests was to assess thruster degradation, which will help the teams understand why some thrusters were offline during the flight and evaluate the implications of reactivating them for the spacecraft’s return.
The term “de-selected” refers to some thrusters that malfunctioned. Issues with helium tanks that assist in controlling the thrusters caused delays before and during the Starliner launch. Officials mentioned that the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium on board, despite only requiring seven. While they indicated earlier this month that the crew module could return immediately if necessary, they clarified that a full preparation for the return is still underway.
The latest communication from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight might occur at the end of this month. However, the timing has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will continue with thruster disassembly and inspections and work on finalizing flight plans to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s safe return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”