The Boeing CST-100 Starliner team has received encouraging news regarding the spacecraft’s return to Earth. Testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it stranded in space since early June, has recently been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests to begin preparations for the vessel’s homecoming.
An update released 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 focusing on data reviews.” The objective of the tests was to examine the thruster degradation to understand why some thrusters were deactivated during flight and to assess the implications of reactivating these thrusters on the overall Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that became non-operational. Issues with the helium tanks that control the thrusters resulted in leaks both before and during the Starliner’s launch, causing multiple postponements. Although officials reported that the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium on board—far exceeding the seven hours needed—they indicated that they are not fully prepared for an immediate return.
In previous communications, NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could occur at the end of this month. However, the latest update provides a more uncertain timeline: “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.”