The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Recently completed ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in orbit since early June, has allowed Boeing and NASA to begin planning for its 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 purpose of this testing was to examine thruster degradation to better understand why certain thrusters were unavailable during flight and to evaluate the implications of reactivating them for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to the failure of some thrusters during the mission. Leaks were detected in the helium tanks controlling the thrusters both before and during the launch, causing several delays. Officials noted in a press conference last month that, while the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium on board, it only requires seven for its return. Although they stated that the Starliner could be brought back to Earth if necessary, they emphasized that they are not yet ready for the vessel to return.
NASA and Boeing previously indicated that a return could potentially happen by the end of this month. However, that timeline has 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.”