The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received positive news regarding their spacecraft’s return to Earth. The recent completion of ground testing for the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in orbit since early June, allows Boeing and NASA to begin planning for its return trip.
An update released late last week confirmed that ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is now finished, and teams will focus on reviewing the collected data. The tests aimed to evaluate thruster performance and understand why some thrusters were inoperable during flight, as well as the potential implications of bringing these thrusters back online.
Some thrusters were marked as “de-selected,” meaning they failed to function, which was attributed to helium leaks in the tanks that control the thrusters. These issues resulted in several delays leading up to the Starliner’s launch. Officials stated in a recent press conference that the spacecraft contains enough helium for up to 70 hours of operation, while only seven hours are necessary. Although they mentioned that Starliner could return to Earth if necessary, they indicated that the timing is not immediate.
In their last update, NASA and Boeing projected that a return flight could occur by the end of this month; however, the timeline has since become less specific. The teams will now proceed with disassembling and inspecting the thrusters and will finalize the flight rationale in preparation for readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth, with Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams aboard in the weeks ahead.