The strange noises that Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore made over the weekend from Boeing’s Starliner capsule have been identified as music feedback.
In a blog on X, NASA claimed that the space station and Starliner’s audio system had created the feedback from the speech.
” A pulsing noise from a speech in Boeing’s Starliner aircraft, heard by Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station, has stopped. The comments from the speech was the result of an acoustic design between the space station and Starliner”, Nasa said via its @Commercial_Crew accounts.
According to Nasa, the space station’s sound system is complicated, connecting different aircraft and modules, which can often end in noise and feedback. Mission control is frequently instructed to report strange sounds to astronauts.
The feedback sound reportedly had no impact on the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s planned uncrewed undocking from the International Space Station ( ISS) on September 6.
In Houston, Texas, Barry Wilmore held a telephone up to the speaker to make them understand the noise before they could also notice it. After some diagnostics, Mission Control confirmed the noise, describing it as” a pulsating sound, almost like a radar ping”, and agreed to research further.
Astronauts Wilmore and Sunita Williams arrived at the ISS on June 6, 2024, for Starliner’s trip test, which encountered problems like gas leaks and jet problems. Initially planned as an eight-day mission, their stay has extended to nearly three months. In February 2025, they will board SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule with Nasa’s Crew 9. They will then travel back to Earth.
Reflecting on the noise incident, Zac Aubert, founder of The Launch Pad, said, as quoted by Fox News,” For many of us, it was,’ Oh, here we go again. Another day, another Starliner event.’ I can only imagine what it was like to hear that noise coming from the station down the corridor. Although it probably seemed strange, I’m glad it ended up being just a program set up incorrectly.
Nasa administrator Bill Nelson emphasized the importance of safety in the decision-making process, stating, as quoted by Fox News,” Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe nor routine. Our commitment to safety, which is both our main value and our North Star, led to the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home unarmed. For their incredible and thorough work, both the Boeing and Nasa teams are indebted.
The Starliner capsule will return to Earth uncelewed as early as September 6, 2024, according to a NASA announcement last week.
