The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Recently, the testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in orbit since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the conclusion of these tests to start planning the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update released last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now turning their attention to data reviews.” The testing aimed to understand thruster degradation better, particularly why some thrusters were not operational during flight and the potential impact of reinstating them on the overall operation of the Crew Flight Test.
When officials referred to “de-selected,” they indicated that some thrusters became non-functional. Issues stemmed from leaking helium tanks that control the thrusters, causing multiple launch delays. During a press conference last month, officials mentioned that while the spacecraft has enough helium for 70 hours of operation, it only requires seven. Although they noted that the craft could return immediately if necessary, they indicated that it is not yet fully prepared for re-entry.
Previously, NASA and Boeing suggested a return flight could happen at the end of this month. However, the timeline has since 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.”