The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in orbit since early June, have now been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests to initiate plans for the spacecraft’s return journey.
According to an update from the previous week, ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded, and teams are now focused on analyzing the collected data. The primary goal of the tests was to assess thruster degradation, providing insights into why some thrusters were unavailable during flight and the potential impacts of reinstating them for future operations.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that experienced failures. There were issues with the helium tanks controlling the thrusters, which leaked prior to and during the Starliner’s launch, resulting in multiple postponements. Officials noted last month that the spacecraft carries 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, despite only needing seven hours. While they indicated earlier this month that the Starliner could return immediately if necessary, they also mentioned they are not fully prepared for that to happen just yet.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight could occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline is now more flexible: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with 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.”