The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received positive news regarding its return to Earth. Testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in orbit since early June, has recently concluded. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the results of these tests to initiate plans for the spacecraft’s re-entry.
A recent update noted, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The test aimed to examine the degradation of the thrusters to understand why some were deemed inoperative during flight and what effects, if any, reactivating those thrusters might have on the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to those thrusters that failed to function. There were issues with helium tanks that control the thrusters, leading to multiple delays before and during the Starliner’s launch. Officials noted that the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium on board, though it only requires seven hours. While they indicated earlier this month that the Starliner could return immediately if necessary, they also mentioned that they are not fully prepared for that eventuality yet.
The last update from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could occur by the end of this month. However, that timeline has now become less specific, stating, “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and work on finalizing flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s scheduled return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”