The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept the vehicle in space since early June, has recently concluded. Boeing and NASA had been waiting for the completion of these tests to start coordinating the vessel’s homecoming.
An update released late 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 objective of the tests was to assess thruster degradation, providing insight into why certain thrusters malfunctioned during flight and understanding the implications of potentially reactivating them for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to the thrusters that ceased to operate. Issues arose with the helium tanks controlling the thrusters, which experienced leaks before and during the Starliner’s launch, resulting in several delays. During a press conference last month, officials noted that the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium onboard, even though it only requires seven. While they indicated earlier this month that the ship could return immediately if necessary, they also mentioned that they were not fully prepared for its return just yet.
In their last update, NASA and Boeing suggested a return flight might occur by the end of this month. However, the current timeline is less defined, with the latest statement indicating, “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.”