The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recently, ground testing on the spacecraft’s thrusters was completed, which had left the vehicle stranded in space since early June. Boeing and NASA had postponed planning the return trip until these tests were finished.
An update announced that “ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focused on reviewing the data.” The tests aimed to evaluate thruster degradation to understand why some thrusters were deactivated during flight and assess the implications of reactivating them on the overall Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that became non-operational. Prior to and during the launch, helium tanks used to control the thrusters experienced leaks, leading to several delays. A press conference last month revealed that the Starliner contains 70 hours’ worth of helium on board, despite only needing seven for its mission. Officials indicated that while the craft could technically return at any moment, they are not yet prepared for its landing.
The last update from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight might take place towards the end of this month. However, the timeline is now less certain: “Boeing and NASA engineers will continue with the disassembly and inspection of the thrusters and will proceed with finalizing the flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s anticipated return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”