The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received promising news regarding its return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters have concluded, a critical step that Boeing and NASA were waiting for to plan the return journey that has been delayed since early June.
An update provided last week noted, “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 purpose of these tests was to identify any degradation in the thrusters to understand why some were rendered non-functional during flight and to assess the feasibility of reactivating them for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that malfunctioned. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, helium tanks regulating the thrusters experienced leaks, contributing to several delays. Officials explained at a recent press conference that while the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium on board, it requires only seven for operations. Although they indicated that the spacecraft could currently return if necessary, they emphasized they were not yet prepared for that scenario.
In a previous update, NASA and Boeing suggested a possible return flight at the end of this month. However, the timeline has now become less specific. The current focus for Boeing and NASA engineers will be on dismantling and inspecting the thrusters, as well as finalizing the flight rationale needed for readiness reviews ahead of Starliner’s eventual return to Earth with Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.