The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recently, ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters was completed, a significant milestone since the Starliner has been in orbit since early June. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests to formulate plans for the spacecraft’s return journey.
An update indicated that ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded, and teams are now focusing on reviewing the data. The tests aimed to identify any thruster degradation that could explain why some thrusters were inactive during the mission and to assess the implications of reintegrating those thrusters for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to certain thrusters that ceased functioning. The tanks containing helium, which control the thrusters, experienced leaks prior to and during the Starliner launch, which resulted in several delays. Officials noted in a press conference last month that the spacecraft currently holds 70 hours’ worth of helium, despite only requiring seven hours. While they previously stated the vessel could return immediately if necessary, they also clarified that it is not yet fully prepared for re-entry.
In their latest update, NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could be scheduled for the end of this month. However, the timeline has since become less specific, with a statement indicating that “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and move forward with finalizing the flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s nominal return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”