The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received positive news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been in space since early June, have concluded. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests to begin planning the vehicle’s homeward journey.
An update from 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 focusing on data reviews.” The main goal of the test was to analyze any degradation of the thrusters, allowing the teams to understand why some thrusters were deactivated during flight and the potential effects of reintegrating those thrusters into operation.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Issues arose with the helium tanks that control the thrusters, which were leaking before and during the Starliner’s launch, causing several delays. Officials reported last month that the spacecraft has a surplus of helium, amounting to 70 hours’ worth, despite only needing seven. While they mentioned earlier this month that the Starliner could return immediately if necessary, they indicated that preparations for a return are still ongoing.
The last update from NASA and Boeing suggested a potential return flight at the end of this month, but the timeframe has since become less specific. “Boeing and NASA engineers will carry out thruster disassembly and inspections and continue to finalize flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks,” the update concluded.