The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters have been completed, which were conducted to assess the issues that caused it to remain in space since early June. Boeing and NASA had planned to wait for these tests to conclude before scheduling the spacecraft’s return.
An update released last week stated that teams completed ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, and they are now focusing on reviewing the data. The objective of these tests was to understand the degradation of some thrusters that had been de-selected during the flight and to evaluate the potential effects of reintroducing those thrusters to the operation of the spacecraft.
The term “de-selected” refers to some thrusters that failed to function. The helium tanks that operate the thrusters experienced leaks before and during the Starliner launch, prompting several delays. Officials indicated last month that the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, while only needing seven hours for its operations. They noted that while the craft could technically return to Earth at any moment, they are not yet prepared for that eventuality.
The latest communications from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight might be possible by the end of this month, but the timeline is now less defined. Engineers from both organizations will continue with the disassembly and inspection of the thrusters, as well as finalizing the rationale for the upcoming readiness reviews for Starliner’s return to Earth, piloted by commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.