The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding its return to Earth. Recent testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which had left it stranded in space since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to conclude before planning the vessel’s homeward journey.
The ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has been finalized, and the teams are now focused on analyzing the data. The purpose of the tests was to investigate the reasons behind the in-flight failure of some thrusters, referred to as “de-selected,” and to assess the impact of potentially reactivating those thrusters on the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” indicates that some thrusters ceased to function. There were issues with the helium tanks that control the thrusters, which leaked before and during the launch of the Starliner, resulting in multiple delays. Officials indicated at a press conference last month that the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, despite only requiring seven. While they mentioned earlier this month that the craft could return if necessary, they expressed that they are not fully prepared for that eventuality just yet.
In a previous update, NASA and Boeing stated that the return flight could occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline has since become less specific. Boeing and NASA engineers will now disassemble and inspect the thrusters, continuing with the finalization of flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.