The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding their return journey home. Recent ground tests on the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it in orbit since early June, have been completed. Boeing and NASA awaited these tests before planning the Starliner’s re-entry.
A recent update 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 to better understand why some thrusters were inactive during flight and the potential impact of reactivating those thrusters on the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to some thrusters that ceased operation. Helium tanks essential for controlling the thrusters experienced leaks before and during the launch, resulting in several delays. Officials mentioned last month that the spacecraft holds 70 hours’ worth of helium, whereas it only requires seven. Despite stating earlier this month that the Starliner could return if necessary, they also indicated that they were not yet fully prepared for that scenario.
In their latest update, NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline has since become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and will continue finalizing flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s anticipated return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”