The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in orbit since early June, has been successfully completed. Boeing and NASA had anticipated this milestone before beginning plans for the spacecraft’s journey back home.
An update from last week confirmed, “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 objective of the testing was to analyze thruster degradation to understand the reasons behind the in-flight failure of some thrusters and assess the potential impact of reactivating them on the Crew Flight Test.
Officials indicated that some thrusters had been “de-selected,” referring to instances where they had stopped functioning. The helium tanks that control the thrusters experienced leaks prior to and during the Starliner launch, resulting in multiple delays. During a press conference last month, officials noted that the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium on board, although only seven are required for the mission. Despite stating that the Starliner could return if necessary, they emphasized that preparations for its return were not yet finalized.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could occur by the end of this month; however, the timeframe has now 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,” the update stated.