NASA Astronaut Butch Wilmore Reports ‘Unusual Noise’ from Boeing’s Starliner Spacecraft (Video)

Mission Control at Johnson Space Center, Houston, likens the sound to a ‘pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping’

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore who was on board the Starliner spacecraft on Saturday (Aug. 31) experienced something strange inside the capsule.

Wilmore called Mission Control complaining about strange sounds coming from Starliners built-in speakers when the craft is attached to ISS.

“We have an intercom jam here,” Wilmore said, “ A continuous , strange sound is coming out of the speaker. ” This is what he said: “I don’t know what is making it.

He then brought a devise near the speakers so that Mission Control could hear the throbbing sound that took place every now and then.

According to CBS news Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston described the noise as a “sound that has a pulse, or a ping . ”

Canadian astro Chris Hadfield decided to comment on the situation in a post on Hat X, where one can hear the sound Wilmore reported.

Some sounds I don’t want to hear in the spaceship are several of which Boeing Starliner is making now, Hadfield said.

There are several noises I’d prefer not to hear inside my spaceship, including this one that @Boeing Starliner is now making. pic.twitter.com/NMMPMo5dtt

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) September 1, 2024

The unusual sound was first described by the Ars Technica, which relies on the recording made by a Michigan based meteorologist Rob Dale and posted on the NASA Spaceflight (NSF) forum.

NASA has since then come out to make a statement regarding the same.

“NASA has reported that a pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the ISS has ceased,” NASA said. “The feedback from the speaker therefore caused some difficulties in an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner. ”

NASA added that because the ISS is an interconnected system of components such as spaceships and interconnected auxiliary modules, the presence of noise and feedback is quite to be expected. If the crew feels that there is something fishy the communication system then they are encourage to contact Mission Control.

”The speaker feedback reported by Wilmore has no technical effect on the crew, Starliner or station,” NASA added, noting that the uncrewed vehicle is set to undock from the station no earlier than September 6.

Starliner was launched on the 5th, June for the astronauts’ first operational mission with Human Spaceflight to ISS, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. It was an added achievement that the capsule was docked on June 6. Originally, the mission was planned for about 10 days, but both NASA and Boeing decided to make the capsule stay in orbit longer due to a thruster problem.

Finally, the responsible decision was made at NASA that, returning Williams and Wilmore on the Starliner has too many risks associated with it. The agency said that the two astronauts will fly back to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025. At the same time, the Boeing capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean without astronauts on board. It is expected to be returned to the earth no earlier than 2204 GMT 6th September and splash down in the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico after six hours’ duration.

Do not forget to share your opinion with us to provide you with the best posts !