The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received promising news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have been in orbit since early June, have now been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to finalize plans for the spacecraft’s journey back home.
An update provided late last week indicated that the testing of the Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded, and teams are now focused on examining the collected data. The purpose of the tests was to assess thruster degradation and to gain insights into why some thrusters were not functioning during flight, as well as to evaluate the implications of potentially reactivating those thrusters for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
Some thrusters were deemed “de-selected,” meaning they ceased functioning. Issues arose from leaking helium tanks, which affected the thrusters before and during the Starliner launch, resulting in several delays. Officials noted that while the ship currently has 70 hours of helium onboard, only seven hours are necessary for operational requirements. Despite previous statements indicating that the spacecraft could return home immediately if necessary, officials asserted that they are not yet prepared for that eventuality.
In the latest update from NASA and Boeing, a potential return flight was suggested for the end of this month. However, the timeline has since become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will continue with thruster disassembly and inspections while working towards finalizing flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the forthcoming weeks.”