The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters were completed after the Starliner has remained in space since early June. Boeing and NASA had held off on planning the spacecraft’s return until these tests were concluded.
An update from 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 turning their attention to data reviews.” The purpose of the tests was to assess the degradation of the thrusters, which will provide insight into why some units were inactive during flight and the potential effects of reintegrating them into service for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to the thrusters that experienced malfunction. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, helium tanks that control the thrusters were found to have leaks, resulting in several delays. Officials noted last month that the spacecraft has 70 hours’ worth of helium onboard, far exceeding the seven-hour requirement, but indicated that while they could bring the craft back if necessary, they are not yet ready for such a move.
NASA and Boeing previously mentioned that the return flight could occur at the end of the month, but the timeline is now less definitive. They stated, “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections and move forward with finalizing 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.”