The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew received encouraging news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in space since early June, have been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to finalize plans for the Starliner’s journey back home.
An 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 turning their attention to data reviews.” The objective of the tests was to analyze thruster degradation to better understand why some thrusters were disabled during flight and the potential impacts of reactivating them.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that failed to operate. Prior to and during the launch, there were leaks in the helium tanks that control the thrusters, which caused several delays. Officials indicated that while the Starliner has 70 hours’ worth of helium—far exceeding the seven hours needed—it is not yet ready for a return even though it could technically come back at any time.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing mentioned that a return flight could potentially be scheduled for the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific, stating, “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and move forward with finalizing flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s nominal return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”