NASA's Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore report 'strange noises' emanating from faulty Starliner

In an unexpected turn of events aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have raised an alarm about a series of “strange noises” emanating from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

The astronauts, who are stranded on the ISS due to Starliner's technical issues, contacted NASA's Mission Control in Houston to report the strange sounds. As per the recording, first shared by a meteorologist named Rob Dale, the veteran astronauts are reportedly encountering a ‘pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.’

Pulsating noise

Ars Technica first reported the ‘bizarre sound’ citing a recording originally captured and shared by Rob Dale, a meteorologist based in Michigan. In the recording, Wilmore holds his phone up to the speakers so Mission Control can hear the sound he's talking about. One can clearly hear a steady, pulsing sound coming from Wilmore's phone, coming out in regular beats.

“Butch, that one came through,” Mission control responds to the noise provided by Wilmore. “It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping,” they added.

However, since the noise was not clear the first time, Wilmore said he would try again so the team could listen carefully to identify what’s wrong. “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,” the NASA astronaut stuck in space can be heard saying.

Recording to be probed

On the other hand, the Mission Control team has yet to respond to media inquiries. However, they have assured the astronauts that the recording will be investigated and they’ll be informed of the findings. Wilmore clarifies that the sound is coming from the speaker inside the Starliner.

Ars Technica mentions that it's pretty normal for astronauts to hear weird sounds from stuff in space. The kind of sonar-like noises heard this weekend probably aren't too complicated, and Wilmore didn't look too worried about it. However, these odd noises can’t be ignored, particularly since Boeing and NASA have had a tough time with the Starliner's crewed flights, dealing with big helium leaks and thruster problems.

Bringing astronauts back

As far as NASA’s plan to bring back the astronaut duo to Earth is concerned, the space agency said it’s too dangerous to bring them back to Earth in Boeing’s new capsule and therefore they will have to wait until next year for a trip home with SpaceX.

Wilmore and Williams are now set to return in a SpaceX capsule in February next year. The mission, which was originally scheduled for one week, has unexpectedly stretched to several months.

Meanwhile, their empty Starliner capsule will undock in early September and try to fly back on its own, aiming to land in the New Mexico desert.