The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received positive news regarding its return to Earth. Ground-based testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it stranded in space since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the conclusion of these tests before planning the spacecraft’s homeward journey.
An update from last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The tests aimed to observe thruster degradation, providing insights into why some thrusters malfunctioned during flight and assessing the potential impacts of reinstating them for the Crew Flight Test.
When officials referred to “de-selected” thrusters, they indicated that certain thrusters failed to function due to leaking helium tanks that impacted the spacecraft both before and during the launch, causing several delays. At a press conference last month, officials mentioned that the Starliner had 70 hours of helium on board despite only needing seven. While they stated earlier this month that the spacecraft could return to Earth if necessary, they clarified that they are not yet fully prepared for that to occur.
In their latest update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight could potentially occur by the end of this month. However, the timeframe has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and will advance to finalize 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.”