The crew of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner has received encouraging news regarding their impending return to Earth. Testing of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which have kept it in space since early June, has recently concluded. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the results of these tests before scheduling the vessel’s return journey.
An update from last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on data reviews.” The objective of the testing was to analyze thruster degradation to better understand the issues that led to some thrusters being rendered inactive during flight and to evaluate the potential effects of reactivating them on the crew flight test.
The term “de-selected” refers to the thrusters that ceased functioning. The tanks containing the helium that operates the thrusters experienced leaks prior to and during the Starliner launch, which resulted in several delays. During a press conference last month, officials mentioned that the spacecraft carries 70 hours of helium, while only seven hours are required for its operation. Although they indicated earlier this month that the vessel could return immediately if necessary, they clarified that they are not yet fully prepared for its return.
According to the latest update, NASA and Boeing anticipated that a return flight could happen at the end of this month. However, the timeline has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will continue with thruster disassembly and inspections, and will progress in finalizing flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth, featuring commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”