The Boeing CST-100 Starliner team has received positive news regarding the spacecraft’s return to Earth. Recent earthbound tests on the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in space since early June, have been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting these test results to begin coordinating the Starliner’s journey back home.
An update provided last week noted, “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 purpose of the tests was to examine the degradation of thrusters to better understand why some became inoperative during the flight and to assess the potential impact of bringing those thrusters back into service for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
Some thrusters were categorized as “de-selected,” indicating they stopped functioning during the mission. Prior to and during the launch, there were issues with leaking helium tanks that control the thrusters, which resulted in multiple delays. Officials stated that the Starliner has 70 hours’ worth of helium available, although it only requires seven hours for its operations. While it was previously mentioned that the spacecraft could return immediately if necessary, official sources have indicated that they are not prepared for that just yet.
In their latest communication, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight might occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will move ahead with thruster disassembly and inspections while finalizing the flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s scheduled return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”