The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew has received promising news regarding their upcoming return to Earth. The spacecraft’s thruster ground testing, which had resulted in it remaining in space since early June, has recently been completed. Boeing and NASA were awaiting the conclusion of these tests to begin planning for the Starliner’s journey back.
According to an update released late last week, teams at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico have completed testing the Starliner’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster. They are now reviewing the data collected. The purpose of this testing was to understand thruster degradation, particularly why certain thrusters were not functioning during flight and the potential impacts of reintegrating them into service for the upcoming Crew Flight Test.
Officials indicated that some thrusters had “de-selected,” meaning they ceased functioning. Prior to and during the launch, there were leaks in the helium tanks that operate the thrusters, which caused several delays. At a press conference last month, it was reported that the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium onboard, despite only requiring seven hours. Although officials mentioned earlier this month that the Starliner could return if necessary, they clarified that they are not yet fully prepared for its return.
The latest update from NASA and Boeing suggested that a return flight could be possible by the end of October. However, the timeline has become less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and continue finalizing flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s planned return to Earth, with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”