The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received positive news regarding their return to Earth. Recently completed ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in space since early June, marked a significant step forward. Boeing and NASA had been awaiting the results of these tests before planning the spacecraft’s homecoming.
An update released last week noted that testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is now complete, allowing teams to focus on reviewing the data gathered. The objective was to assess the performance of the thrusters and to understand the reasons behind some thrusters being deselected during the flight, as well as the potential effects of reactivating them on the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning during the mission. Leaks in the helium tanks controlling the thrusters had caused multiple launch delays. Officials highlighted that the spacecraft possesses 70 hours’ worth of helium on board, despite only requiring seven hours for operation. While they confirmed earlier this month that the Starliner could return home if necessary, they noted that they are not yet fully prepared for that eventuality.
In their latest announcement, NASA and Boeing indicated that a potential return flight could occur at the end of this month. However, that timeline has since become less specific: “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.”