The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding their return home. Testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it stranded in space since early June, has recently concluded on Earth. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests to begin planning the vessel’s homeward journey.
An update released late last week announced, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The purpose of the tests was to evaluate thruster performance degradation, aiding teams in understanding why certain thrusters were disabled during the mission and the potential effects of reactivating them.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, there were issues with helium tanks controlling the thrusters leaking, which resulted in multiple delays. In a press conference last month, officials mentioned that the spacecraft is equipped with 70 hours’ worth of helium, although only seven hours is required for its operations. While they indicated that the craft could return immediately if necessary, they also noted that they are not fully prepared for that return yet.
The most recent update from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could occur at the end of this month, though the timing is now a bit less certain. They stated, “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and will move forward in finalizing flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”