Stranded Nasa astronaut reports ‘strange noise’ from Boeing Starliner spacecraft

Tuesday, 3 September 2024

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck in orbit for six months longer than planned due to issues with the Boeing designed space capsule.

One of the astronauts stranded in space by the stricken Boeling Starliner has reported a “strange noise” coming from the faulty capsule.

Nasa test pilot Butch Wilmore radioed the Johnson Space Centre in Houston over the weekend to tell them about a pulsing sound he’d heard.

The sound, and radio exchange, can be heard in the video above.

“I’ve got a question about Starliner. There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker and I didn’t know if you can connect into the Starliner … I don’t know what’s making it.”

In this long-exposure photo provided by NASA, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station on July 3, 2024.

Wilmore played the sound to them by holding his phone up to the Starliner speaker.

“Butch, that one came through. It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping,” mission control said.

He played them the sound again, saying: “I’ll let you figure it out.”

Astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore inside the International Space Station which has become home for the rest of the year.

“Good recording, thanks Butch. We will pass it onto the team and let you know what we find.”

It seems the mystery has now been solved. In a post on X in Tuesday at 2.35am NZT Nasa Commercial Crew posted what was causing the pulsing sound.

“A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heard by Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station has stopped.

“The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner. The space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be interconnected, and it is common to experience noise and feedback.

“The crew is asked to contact mission control when they hear sounds originating in the comm system. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 6.”

Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the International Space Station on June 6 for what was supposed to be about an eight-day mission. But they will now be there until next year.

The Starliner docked at the ISS, with Earth seen in the background.

The delay is because of the fact that during the approach to the station, five of the Boeing spacecraft’s thrusters shut off suddenly, and the spacecraft also sprung a series of small but persistent helium leaks in its propulsion system.

The two astronauts must remain on the International Space Station until February when a craft provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX will collect them.