The Starliner capsule is making a strange sound, a NASA astronaut reported – Space – Science and technology

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore reported strange pulsing sounds coming from the loudspeaker of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. TASR reported based on a report by The Guardian published on Monday.

This photo provided by NASA shows the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that carried astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station attached to the front port of the Harmony module on July 3, 2024, as seen from a window on the neighboring SpaceX Dragon Endeavor spacecraft.

Wilmore reported the strange sounds made by the capsule to air traffic control in the American city of Houston, Texas, on Saturday. “I have a question about the Starliner. There’s a strange sound coming from the speaker there… and I have no idea what’s making it,” said the astronaut.

The report set off a frantic search for the source of the sound. During the search, Wilmore repeatedly tried to play the suspicious sound to air traffic control, but only succeeded when he held his microphone to the Starliner’s speaker. The sonar-like sound is thought to be caused by feedback between the Starliner and the space station.

The strange sound was recorded and shared by meteorologist Rob Dale from the US state of Michigan and was first reported by the Ars Technica portal, according to which strange sounds in space are not unusual. Taikonaut Yang Liwei, the first Chinese in space, claimed in 2003 that he heard a sound like someone hitting a metal bucket with a wooden hammer.

Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams were stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) in June after the Starliner capsule suffered technical problems with a helium leak. Instead of the originally planned ten days, they will spend approximately eight months in space and will not return to Earth until February 2025.

The Starliner capsule will attempt to return to Earth on September 6. It will not carry a crew and will be driven by autopilot. But it must make way for a capsule from Boeing competitor Space X, which will arrive at the ISS this month and take the two stranded astronauts back to Earth in February. However, the two astronauts who were originally supposed to arrive at the station must remain on the surface.