The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received promising news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in orbit since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests to start planning for the vehicle’s journey back home.
An update from 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 analyze thruster performance degradation to better understand the reasons for the failure of some thrusters during the flight and evaluate the implications of potentially reactivating them.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the launch, helium tanks that control the thrusters experienced leaks, resulting in several delays. Officials indicated last month that the Starliner carries 70 hours’ worth of helium, despite only needing seven hours to operate. Although they stated that the spacecraft could return immediately if necessary, they also mentioned that they are not fully prepared for its return just yet.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing suggested that the spacecraft could potentially return by the end of this month, but the timeline is now 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.”