The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in orbit since early June, have been successfully completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to be finished before starting plans for the spacecraft’s return journey.
An update mentioned that ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded, and teams are now focusing on reviewing the data. The objective of these tests was to evaluate thruster degradation, enabling teams to understand why certain thrusters were inoperative during flight and the potential effects of reactivating those thrusters on the overall Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, the tanks holding the helium used to control the thrusters were leaking, which caused multiple delays. Officials noted that while the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, it only requires seven hours for its operations. Although earlier indications suggested that the craft could return immediately if necessary, officials clarified that they are not fully prepared for that scenario yet.
The latest update from NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight could occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific, with Boeing and NASA engineers planning to proceed with disassembly and inspection of the thrusters, while also preparing for readiness reviews for Starliner’s expected return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.