The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Recently completed ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been unable to return since early June, mark a significant step forward. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting these test results to initiate planning for the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update released last week confirmed, “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 focused on data reviews.” The aim of the tests was to assess the degradation of the thrusters, allowing teams to gain insights into the reasons behind the in-flight de-selection of some thrusters and the potential impact of reactivating them.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. The helium tanks regulating the thrusters experienced leaks before and during the Starliner’s launch, leading to multiple delays. During a press conference last month, officials noted that the spacecraft is equipped with 70 hours’ worth of helium, although only seven hours are necessary for its operation. While they indicated earlier this month that the craft could return immediately if required, they have also stated that they are not fully prepared for that eventuality just yet.
In their most recent update, NASA and Boeing mentioned that a return flight could occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline has now become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and continue to finalize 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.”