The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in space since early June, have been successfully completed. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the conclusion of these tests before making plans for the spacecraft’s return.
An 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 is now finished, and teams are beginning the process of reviewing the data. The purpose of the testing was to assess thruster performance degradation and to gain insights into why some thrusters were rendered inoperative during flight, along with understanding the potential impacts of reactivating those thrusters on the overall Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to the thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, the helium tanks that control the thrusters experienced leaks, resulting in several delays. Officials noted last month that the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium onboard, well exceeding its seven-hour requirement. Although they mentioned that the Starliner could return if absolutely necessary, they also indicated that they are not quite prepared for that eventuality just yet.
In the most recent update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight might take place by the end of this month. However, the timeline is now less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will conduct thruster disassembly and inspections, and proceed with finalizing flight plans in preparation for readiness reviews leading up to Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”