The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been inactive since early June, have been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to develop a plan for the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update shared last week indicated, “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 turning their attention to data reviews.” The tests aimed to assess thruster degradation to understand why some thrusters were not operational during flight and the potential effects of reintegrating those thrusters on the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to some thrusters that malfunctioned. Issues arose from helium tanks, which control the thrusters, leaking both before and during the Starliner launch, causing several delays. Officials noted last month that the spacecraft has an ample supply of helium onboard, sufficient for 70 hours, while it only requires seven for its return. Although they indicated the craft could presently return if necessary, they stressed that preparations for the landing are still ongoing.
The most recent communication from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight might occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and 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.”