The Boeing CST-100 Starliner team has received positive news regarding the spacecraft’s eventual return to Earth. Recently, ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters was completed, which have kept it in space since early June. Both Boeing and NASA awaited the conclusion of these tests before proceeding with plans for the Starliner’s homecoming.
An update shared last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now turning their attention to data reviews.” The main goal of the tests was to assess any degradation of the thrusters, allowing the teams to better understand why certain thrusters were deactivated during the flight, and to evaluate the potential implications of reactivating them for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test.
“De-selected” refers to the thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, there were issues with helium tanks that control the thrusters, which caused several delays. Officials indicated last month that while the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, it only requires seven hours for operations. They noted earlier this month that, although the craft could return to Earth immediately if necessary, they are not yet prepared for that eventuality.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight could potentially occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less precise: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and will move forward with finalizing flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s nominal return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”