The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recently, ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it stranded in space since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the conclusion of these tests to begin planning the vessel’s return.
An update provided last week confirmed that the testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has been finalized, and teams are now focusing on reviewing the data. The purpose of the tests was to assess thruster performance and understand the causes behind the failure of some thrusters during the flight. Officials noted that certain thrusters had been “de-selected,” meaning they had ceased functioning. This issue was attributed to leaks in the helium tanks that control the thrusters, which occurred before and during the Starliner launch, resulting in multiple delays.
During a press conference last month, it was stated that the spacecraft contains 70 hours of helium, although it only requires seven for its return. While officials mentioned earlier this month that the craft could come back to Earth if necessary, they indicated that they are not yet fully prepared for that scenario.
NASA and Boeing’s latest remarks suggest that a return flight could potentially happen at the end of this month. However, the timeline is now less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and finalize flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s nominal return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”