The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received some positive news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground tests on the spacecraft’s thrusters have concluded, which have kept it in orbit since early June. Boeing and NASA were awaiting these tests to plan the vessel’s homeward journey.
The update from last week indicated that the testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has been completed, and teams are now focused on reviewing the data. The purpose of the tests was to observe any deterioration in the thrusters to understand why some were malfunctioning during flight and to assess any potential impacts of reactivating those thrusters for the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. The helium tanks controlling the thrusters experienced leaks before and during the Starliner launch, resulting in several delays. During a press conference last month, officials noted that the spacecraft has a supply of 70 hours of helium on board, although it only requires seven hours. They indicated earlier this month that the spacecraft could return if necessary, but clarified that preparations for that eventuality are still ongoing.
In the latest statement, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight could potentially occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline has since 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.”