The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in space since early June, has been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to conclude before planning the vessel’s homecoming.
An update from last week confirmed, “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 turning their attention to data reviews.” The purpose of the tests was to assess thruster performance and determine the reasons behind the in-flight failures of some thrusters, as well as the potential impact on the Crew Flight Test from reactivating them.
Some thrusters were categorized as “de-selected,” meaning they ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner’s launch, there were issues with helium tanks leaking, which resulted in multiple launch delays. Officials mentioned that the spacecraft has a supply of helium sufficient for 70 hours, even though it only requires seven hours for operation. While they indicated earlier this month that the vehicle could return immediately if necessary, they confirmed that they are not fully prepared for that eventuality.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing indicated that a return flight might occur by the end of this month. However, the timeline remains uncertain: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and will move forward with finalizing flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s nominal return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”