The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been idle since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting these tests to begin planning the vessel’s homecoming.
An update provided late last week confirmed that the testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded. Teams are now focusing on data analysis to better understand the thruster issues that led to some of them being offline during flight. They are assessing the potential impact of reactivating those thrusters on the remainder of the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to the thrusters that became non-operational. Issues prior to and during the launch included leaking helium tanks that control the thrusters, resulting in multiple delays. Officials noted that the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium onboard, far more than the seven hours required. While they mentioned earlier this month that Starliner could return immediately if necessary, they also indicated they are not fully prepared for that to happen just yet.
In the latest update from NASA and Boeing, a return flight was tentatively scheduled for the end of this month. However, the timeline is now less specific, as engineers will begin disassembling and inspecting the thrusters while finalizing the flight plan for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.