The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew received promising news regarding their return to Earth as ground testing for the spacecraft’s thrusters has successfully concluded. These thrusters have left the Starliner in space since early June, and Boeing and NASA awaited the test results before planning the spacecraft’s journey home.
An update from late last week stated, “Ground testing of a Starliner Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete, and teams are now focusing on reviewing the data.” The purpose of the testing was to analyze thruster performance and understand the reasons behind some thrusters being inactive during flight, as well as to evaluate any potential impacts of reintegrating them for future use.
Some thrusters were labeled as “de-selected,” which indicates they malfunctioned during operation. Issues arose with the helium tanks that control the thrusters, leading to multiple delays prior to and during the Starliner launch. At last month’s press briefing, officials noted the spacecraft has 70 hours of helium onboard, despite only requiring seven for its operations. While they stated earlier this month that the Starliner could return immediately if necessary, they clarified that preparations for such a return were not yet complete.
Most recently, NASA and Boeing provided an update suggesting a potential return flight toward the end of this month. However, the timeline is now less specific: “Boeing and NASA engineers will proceed with thruster disassembly and inspections, and continue to finalize flight rationale to support readiness reviews for Starliner’s anticipated return to Earth with commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams in the coming weeks.”