NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore has reported to Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston that the Boeing Starliner docked at the International Space Station (ISS) is now making a “strange” noise.
This latest event comes as the Starliner has faced countless issues since even before its launch. Now, two astronauts — Wilmore and Suni Williams — will remain in space on the ISS for a prolonged period of time.
Starliner’s Many Issues
From the get-go, Boeing’s Starliner craft has had many issues. First, the launch of the craft with Williams and Wilmore on board was scrubbed more than once.
Then, even more problems emerged while the craft was in orbit and heading towards the ISS.
A Prolonged Stay and Stranded Astronauts
Upon arriving at the ISS, NASA officially prolonged the stay of Williams and Wilmore, citing the issues with the Starliner craft.
Recently, NASA has confirmed that Williams and Wilmore will stay on the ISS until early 2025, as they’re worried the Starliner is not secure enough to return the astronauts back to Earth.
The Starliner Will Return to Earth
While the duo’s stay on the ISS has been prolonged from about a week to multiple months, NASA has confirmed that everything will work itself out eventually.
While a SpaceX craft will bring Williams and Wilmore home next year, the Starliner is set to return to Earth with no crew sometime soon.
Strange Noises Coming From the Starliner
Just when it looked like everything was being solved to a certain degree, a new odd circumstance arose.
Over the weekend, Wilmore got in touch with Mission Control in Houston to report that the Starliner was making incredibly weird noises that he could identify.
Sounds Coming Through Starliner’s Speakers
Wilmore radioed down to Houston to explain these remarkable noises.
“I’ve got a question about Starliner,” Wilmore said. “There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker … I don’t know what’s making it.”
Sonar Pings?
Wilmore explained that he wasn’t sure if this noise was coming from communication between Houston and the spacecraft, or if it was something else.
After the astronaut put a microphone up to the sound, Mission Control responded, “Alright Butch, that one came through. It was kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.”
Analyzing the Sounds
Wilmore allowed the sound to be played again while also admitting that it was odd that the craft was doing this.
“I’ll do it one more time, and I’ll let y’all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what’s going on,” Wilmore stated. “Alright, over to you. Call us if you figure it out.”
Odd Sounds in Space
This isn’t the first time astronauts in space have reportedly heard odd sounds that they couldn’t quite identify.
In 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei claimed that he heard a noise that sounded like a wooden hammer was knocking on an iron bucket. After this flight, scientists were able to find out that the noise was from spacecraft deformations.
Boeing’s Many Problems
These latest noises that the Starliner is emitting have once again ignited the public’s interest in the stranded astronauts on the ISS.
It also adds to the list of the many problems that Boeing has had during their first crewed mission alongside NASA.
Boeing’s Failures
The Starliner has faced substantial problems before and after its launch. Before the craft went into orbit, engineers were aware that there was a small helium leak in the craft.
However, the launch eventually went ahead — only for these helium leaks to grow in space. When docking with the ISS, the Starliner also experienced five thrusters failing completely. So far, only four have returned to normal.
NASA’s Response
NASA has officially responded with a statement about these odd noises coming from Starliner. The agency has also stated that the flight back to Earth this week will still occur.
NASA said, “The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner.”
