The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Testing on the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in orbit since early June, has recently concluded. Boeing and NASA were waiting for the completion of these tests before making plans for the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update shared 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 shifting their focus to data reviews.” The purpose of the tests was to evaluate thruster performance and understand why some were deemed inoperative during flight, and to assess the potential impact of reactivating those thrusters on the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that failed to operate. Problems with helium tanks, which control the thrusters, caused leaks before and during the Starliner launch, resulting in several delays. At a press conference last month, officials indicated that while the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium available, only seven hours are necessary for its operation. Although they mentioned that the Starliner could return to Earth immediately if necessary, they acknowledged that they are not 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, they added that the timing is now less specific, stating, “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and continue to finalize flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”