Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore, currently aboard the International Space Station, on Saturday radioed Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston to report a “strange noise” coming from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. This comes just days before the Starliner is set to leave the station and return to Earth without any crew.
According to Fox News, the recording captured a rhythmic, pulsating noise occurring at regular intervals.
“Butch, that one came through,” Mission Control says after not hearing it the first time.
“It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping,” it added.
Wilmore offered to play the sound once more, allowing Mission Control to investigate the source of the noise. He confirmed that the sound was coming from the Starliner’s internal speaker.
“I’ll do it one more time and let you all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what’s going on,” Wilmore responded to Mission Control, playing the sound one more time.
Wilmore said that the sound is emanating from the speaker inside the Starliner.
Mission Control reassured Wilmore that they would analyze the recording and provide an update on their findings, Fox News reported.
The Boeing Starliner capsule is slated to return to Earth as early as Friday, with a planned landing in the New Mexico desert.
Sunita Williams and Wilmore who were initially on a one-week mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner since June, have had their stay on the ISS extended due to technical problems such as helium leaks and thruster malfunctions.
Their return has been postponed until February 2025, when they will travel back to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. During their extended time on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore have continued to conduct scientific experiments and perform maintenance tasks. Williams, an experienced astronaut with over 400 days in space, has played a crucial role in various projects and experiments on the station.
According to Fox News, the recording captured a rhythmic, pulsating noise occurring at regular intervals.
“Butch, that one came through,” Mission Control says after not hearing it the first time.
“It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping,” it added.
Wilmore offered to play the sound once more, allowing Mission Control to investigate the source of the noise. He confirmed that the sound was coming from the Starliner’s internal speaker.
“I’ll do it one more time and let you all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what’s going on,” Wilmore responded to Mission Control, playing the sound one more time.
Wilmore said that the sound is emanating from the speaker inside the Starliner.
Mission Control reassured Wilmore that they would analyze the recording and provide an update on their findings, Fox News reported.
The Boeing Starliner capsule is slated to return to Earth as early as Friday, with a planned landing in the New Mexico desert.
Sunita Williams and Wilmore who were initially on a one-week mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner since June, have had their stay on the ISS extended due to technical problems such as helium leaks and thruster malfunctions.
Their return has been postponed until February 2025, when they will travel back to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. During their extended time on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore have continued to conduct scientific experiments and perform maintenance tasks. Williams, an experienced astronaut with over 400 days in space, has played a crucial role in various projects and experiments on the station.