“Strange Noise” Reported by One of the Two Astronauts Trapped in Space Due to Boeing Starliner Incident.
According to The Guardian, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore recently reported a “strange noise” coming from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which has been the vehicle that transported him and his colleague Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) and has left them stranded for the past six months.
The Boeing Starliner is preparing for a return journey without astronauts on board, meaning that Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams will remain trapped for several more months.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are stranded on the ISS due to the Boeing Starliner incident – (Photo: NASA).
NASA reported that Mr. Wilmore’s call to the mission control center in Houston occurred last weekend when he noticed a strange noise emanating from the speaker inside the malfunctioning spacecraft.
“There is a strange noise coming from the speaker… I don’t know what is causing it,” Mr. Wilmore told the control center.
This prompted a new investigation to track down the source of the noise within the malfunctioning spacecraft.
Previously, it was known that the spacecraft had been leaking helium and experiencing engine issues, which caused it to malfunction on its journey to the ISS and prevented the astronauts from returning home.
The source of the noise from the Boeing spacecraft is believed to originate from the feedback loop between the space station and the Starliner.
During the search for the cause of the noise, Mr. Wilmore asked the staff in Houston if they could hear it, and ultimately, this astronaut—floating inside the Starliner—had to bring his microphone close to the speaker.
The control center confirmed that this strange noise resembled a mysterious thumping or the ping of an underwater sonar.
According to an analysis on Ars Technica, strange noises in the silent expanse of space are not unprecedented. In 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei reported hearing something akin to the sound of an iron bucket being struck by a wooden hammer.
The Boeing Starliner is set to return via automated piloting to a landing point in New Mexico, USA, on September 6.
Meanwhile, the two stranded astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth in a capsule built by Boeing’s competitor, SpaceX, in February of next year.
