The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding their return to Earth. Recent ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have left it stranded in space since early June, have been completed. Boeing and NASA were waiting for these tests to plan the vessel’s return journey.
An update from last week confirmed that testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico has concluded, and teams are now analyzing the collected data. The tests aimed to assess thruster degradation to better understand the in-flight failure of certain thrusters and the potential impact of reintegrating them into the system.
Some thrusters were “deselected,” meaning they ceased functioning. This issue arose from leaking helium tanks that control the thrusters, which caused several delays. Officials reported last month that the spacecraft contains 70 hours’ worth of helium, despite only requiring seven. While they indicated earlier this month that the craft could return immediately if necessary, they also mentioned they are not fully prepared for that scenario yet.
In their latest update, NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could happen at the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific. Boeing and NASA engineers will now conduct thruster disassembly and inspections, working towards finalizing the flight rationale for the Starliner’s scheduled return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.