The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding their impending return to Earth. Recent ground testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have prevented it from returning since early June, has been successfully completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting these test results to begin organizing the spacecraft’s homeward journey.
An update shared last week noted the completion of testing on a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Teams are now focusing on analyzing the data collected during the tests. The primary objective was to examine thruster performance degradation to understand why certain thrusters were de-selected during the flight and to assess any potential impacts from reactivating them for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” refers to thrusters that ceased functioning. Prior to and during the Starliner launch, helium tanks that manage the thruster operation experienced leaks, which caused multiple delays. During a press briefing last month, officials indicated that the spacecraft has a reserve of 70 hours’ worth of helium, although it only requires seven hours for its return. Although they mentioned that the Starliner could return at this moment if necessary, they clarified that they are not fully prepared for the return just yet.
The latest communication from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could potentially occur at the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific, with officials stating, “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.”