The Boeing CST-100 Starliner team has received encouraging news regarding the spacecraft’s return to Earth. Recent ground tests on the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it adrift since early June, have been successfully completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests before planning the vessel’s homeward journey.
An update released late 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 focusing on data reviews.” The purpose of the tests was to analyze any thruster degradation to understand the reasons behind the in-flight failure of some thrusters and assess the feasibility of restoring them for the Crew Flight Test.
Officials noted that “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner’s launch, there were issues with leaks in the helium tanks that control the thrusters, resulting in several delays. During a press conference last month, officials revealed that the spacecraft is equipped with 70 hours of helium, despite only needing seven for its operation. While they mentioned earlier this month that the craft could technically return at any moment, they emphasized that they are not yet prepared for that eventuality.
At the last update given by NASA and Boeing, a return flight was anticipated at the end of this month. However, the timeline has since become less definitive, with statements indicating that “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and will work on finalizing flight rationale for readiness reviews as Starliner prepares for its return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”