9:02 a.m. PT — NASA has released a statement on its findings regarding the strange noise the astronaut heard Butch Willmorewhich states: “A pulsating sound from a speaker on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station, has stopped. The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner. “
The statement continued: “The space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be connected together, and it is common to experience noise and feedback. The crew is asked to contact mission control if they hear any sounds coming from the communications system. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact on the crew, Starliner or the station’s operations, including the unmanned undocking of Starliner from the station no earlier than Friday, September 6.
As if being stranded in space in the near future wasn’t enough… one of the astronauts trapped aboard the ISS just sent an audio signal to NASA of an ominous noise coming from their malfunctioning Boeing Starliner aircraft.
In audio first reported by Ars TechnicaAstronaut Butch Wilmore can be heard communicating with the Johnson Space Center in Houston… telling mission control, “I have a question about Starliner. There’s a strange noise coming from the speaker… I don’t know what’s causing it. “
Mission Control configured a way for Butch to play the sound over the phone… and after a failed attempt to hear it, Mission Control confirmed: “Butch, that came through. It was kind of like a pulsing sound, almost like a sonar ping .”
The image was first captured and shared by a Michigan meteorologist Rob Dale.
Butch played the audio again just to be sure and told NASA, “I’ll do it again and let you all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what’s going on.”
Houston confirmed that they will pass on the recording and let Butch know what they think.
As we previously reported… Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams are stranded on the International Space Station since June 6, due to problems with Starliner’s thrusters and helium leaks… after what was supposed to be a week-long stay.
TMZ.com
The plan is for Starliner to disconnect from the ISS and attempt to land back on Earth on autopilot.
As for Butch and Suni, the duo will now return to Earth in February 2025, where they can take a ride on one of Elon Musk‘s SpaceX ships.
Originally published – 7:17am PT