The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew received encouraging news regarding their anticipated return to Earth. Recently, ground tests of the spacecraft’s thrusters were concluded, which had been keeping it in orbit since early June. Boeing and NASA had awaited the completion of these tests to start planning for the Starliner’s journey home.
The completion of testing for the Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster took place at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Following this, teams will begin reviewing the collected data. The purpose of these tests was to examine thruster degradation, which would help understand why some thrusters were rendered inoperative during the flight and assess the implications of potentially reactivating those thrusters for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test.
The term “de-selected” indicates that some thrusters ceased to function. Prior to and during the Starliner’s launch, helium tanks controlling the thrusters experienced leaks, causing several delays. Officials reported last month that the spacecraft has enough helium for 70 hours of operation, despite needing only seven. While they indicated earlier this month that the Starliner could theoretically return immediately if necessary, they also noted that they are not quite prepared for that scenario.
In the latest update, NASA and Boeing mentioned that a return flight might occur by the end of this month. However, this timeline has recently become less specific. It was stated, “Boeing and NASA engineers will move forward with thruster disassembly and inspections while finalizing flight rationale in support of readiness reviews for Starliner’s scheduled return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the upcoming weeks.”