The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in space since early June, has recently concluded successfully. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the completion of these tests before making plans for the vessel’s journey back home.
An update provided last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The purpose of the tests was to assess thruster degradation and understand why some thrusters were deactivated during flight, as well as the implications of reactivating them on the Crew Flight Test.
“De-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, there were issues with leaking helium tanks that control these thrusters, leading to multiple delays. Officials noted that the spacecraft carries 70 hours of helium onboard, while only requiring seven hours for its intended operations. Although they indicated earlier this month that the Starliner could return at any time if necessary, they are not yet fully prepared for that eventuality.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing mentioned that a return flight might occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and finalize flight rationale for readiness reviews regarding Starliner’s return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”