The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Earth-based testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left the vehicle stranded in space since early June, has recently been completed. Boeing and NASA awaited the conclusion of these tests to initiate plans for the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update provided last week confirmed, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now shifting focus to data reviews.” The aim of the test was to examine thruster degradation, helping engineers understand why certain thrusters malfunctioned during flight and the potential effects of reactivating those thrusters on the overall Crew Flight Test.
Officials explained that “de-selected” refers to the thrusters that failed to operate. Issues arose when tanks holding the helium responsible for controlling the thrusters experienced leaks both prior to and during the Starliner launch, causing several delays. A month ago, officials noted the spacecraft holds 70 hours of helium onboard, far exceeding the seven hours it requires. While they mentioned earlier this month that the craft could return home if necessary, they stressed that they are not yet prepared for that scenario.
In their latest update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight might be possible by the end of this month. However, this timeline has since become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will continue with thruster disassembly and inspections, and proceed with finalizing flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s expected return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”