The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding its return to Earth. Recently, ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which has left it stranded in space since early June, was completed. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the completion of these tests to start planning for the vehicle’s homecoming.
An update released late last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The primary goal of the tests was to understand thruster degradation, particularly the reasons why some thrusters were inoperative during the flight and to assess the potential impact of reintegrating them into the system for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
Officials mentioned that “de-selected” refers to thrusters that failed to operate. Prior to and during the launch, helium tanks that manage the thrusters experienced leaks, causing several postponements. At a press conference the previous month, officials indicated that the Starliner has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, despite only needing seven. Although they stated earlier this month that the spacecraft could return immediately if necessary, they also expressed that they are not yet prepared for its return.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing noted that a return flight was projected for the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will begin disassembling and inspecting the thrusters and will move forward with finalizing the 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.”