The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has received encouraging news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in orbit since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA had anticipated these tests to finalize plans for the spacecraft’s homecoming.
Last week, an update confirmed that “ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now turning their attention to data reviews.” The aim of the testing was to analyze thruster degradation to gain insights into why certain thrusters were inactive during the flight, and to determine the implications of reactivating them for the Crew Flight Test.
Officials indicated that “de-selected” refers to thrusters that had failed to operate. There were issues with the helium tanks that control the thrusters, leading to several delays before and during the Starliner launch. Although the spacecraft has a substantial supply of helium onboard—70 hours’ worth when only seven hours are needed—officials expressed that while the craft is technically capable of returning, they are not yet prepared for that occurrence.
In a previous update, NASA and Boeing suggested a possible return flight by the end of this month. However, the timeline is now less defined. The most recent statement mentioned that “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.”