The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in orbit since early June, has been concluded. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting these tests to initiate plans for the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update released late last week indicated that ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has finished, and teams are now focused on reviewing the collected data. The primary goal of the tests was to observe thruster degradation to better understand why some thrusters were inoperable during flight and to assess any potential impacts of returning these thrusters to service on the Crew Flight Test.
Officials explained that “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. The helium tanks that power the thrusters experienced leaks before and during the Starliner launch, causing several delays. At a recent press conference, officials noted that the spacecraft holds 70 hours of helium on board, even though only seven hours are required for operation. While they stated that the craft could technically return to Earth immediately if necessary, they emphasized that they are not yet prepared for that eventuality.
In their latest update, NASA and Boeing mentioned that a return flight might be possible by the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less defined: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and continue to finalize flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”