On Saturday (Aug. 31) NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore seen one thing bizarre contained in the Starliner spacecraft.
Wilmore radioed right down to Mission Management to ask in regards to the weird noises heard emanating from Starliner‘s audio system whereas the spacecraft is at the moment docked to the Worldwide Area Station (ISS).
“There is a unusual noise coming via the speaker,” Wilmore tells Mission Management “I do not know what’s making it.”
Wilmore then holds a tool to the audio system, permitting Mission Management to listen to the pulsating sound occurring at common intervals.
Mission Management at Johnson Area Middle in Houston likens the sound to a “pulsing noise, virtually like a sonar ping.”
Sounding slightly relaxed, and unfazed by the entire state of affairs, Wilmore replied “All proper, over to you, name us for those who determine it out.” Mission Management then informs Wilmore that the recording might be handed alongside to the staff and so they’ll let him know what they discover.
Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield commented on the state of affairs in a publish on X. Within the publish, you possibly can hear the unusual sound reported by Wilmore.
“There are a number of noises I would choose to not hear inside my spaceship, together with this one which Boeing Starliner is now making,” Hadfield wrote.
There are a number of noises I would choose to not hear inside my spaceship, together with this one which @Boeing Starliner is now making. pic.twitter.com/NMMPMo5dttSeptember 1, 2024
The weird sound was initially reported by Ars Technica, referencing a recording initially captured and shared by Michigan-based meteorologist Rob Dale on the NASA Spaceflight (NSF) discussion board.
Starliner launched on June 5 for its first-ever crewed mission, transporting NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS. The capsule efficiently docked on June 6. Though the mission was initially anticipated to final round 10 days, NASA and Boeing prolonged the capsule’s keep in orbit a number of instances as they investigated a thruster challenge.
Finally, NASA decided that returning Williams and Wilmore on Starliner was too dangerous. The company introduced that the 2 astronauts would as an alternative return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025. In the meantime, the Boeing capsule will return to Earth uncrewed. It’s scheduled to undock the ISS no sooner than 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 GMT) on Sept. 6 and land six hours later within the White Sands Area Harbor in New Mexico.
