The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received positive news regarding their return to Earth. Ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been inoperable since early June, have recently been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to plan the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update released last week indicated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is finished, and teams are now focusing on reviewing the data.” The purpose of the tests was to examine thruster degradation to better understand why some thrusters were rendered inoperable during flight and assess the potential implications of reintroducing those thrusters for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to those thrusters that malfunctioned. There were issues with helium tanks that control the thrusters, leading to leaks both before and during the launch of the Starliner, which resulted in multiple delays. Officials mentioned that the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, despite only needing seven hours. While they stated earlier this month that the Starliner could return immediately if necessary, they emphasized that they are not yet prepared for its departure.
NASA and Boeing’s latest update suggested that a return flight might occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less clear: “Boeing and NASA engineers will continue with the disassembly and inspection of the thrusters and will work on finalizing the flight rationale as they prepare for readiness reviews ahead of Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”