The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received positive news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have prevented it from returning since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA had awaited the conclusion of these tests to begin planning the vessel’s homeward journey.
An update provided late 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 focusing on analyzing the data.” The objective of the tests was to monitor thruster degradation, aiding teams in understanding the reasons behind the operational issues experienced during flight, and to assess the implications of returning certain thrusters to service.
Some thrusters became non-operational, attributed to helium tanks leaking both prior to and during the Starliner launch, which caused several delays. Officials noted that while the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium stored, it only requires seven hours for operations. Although it was previously stated that the spacecraft could return to Earth immediately if necessary, officials emphasized that they are not yet fully prepared for that situation.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight could potentially occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less certain, with the statement: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with the disassembly and inspection of thrusters, and will continue finalizing flight rationale in preparation for readiness reviews regarding Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”