Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to stay in space for eight days, but will now remain there for eight months due to ongoing issues with the Starliner. These problems led to the difficult decision not to use this spacecraft to bring the two American astronauts back to Earth.
As previously announced, the two astronauts will return to Earth with a spacecraft from rival SpaceX in February. This is yet another setback for Boeing, which has already been plagued by repeated failures with its airplanes.
According to the Daily Mail, Wilmore contacted the Johnson Space Center in Houston last Saturday to share a concern, just days before the faulty spacecraft was set to begin its return journey to Earth without a crew.
BREAKING🚨: Boeing Starliner Spacecraft emitting strange "sonar like noises" is being reported by Astronauts aboard ISS
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) September 2, 2024
Listen to the real audio here: pic.twitter.com/zVfTW4B5EK
“I have a question about the Starliner. There’s a strange noise coming from the speaker. I didn’t know if you could connect… I don’t know what’s causing it,” Wilmore said, according to the British newspaper.
The mission control center then interrupted the call to make the necessary adjustments to record the sound and called the astronaut back inside the Starliner. He held the microphone close to the Starliner speakers, and after a failed first attempt, the center responded that they successfully captured the sound, which resembled a sonar signal.
Wilmore played the sound again, which was successfully received by mission control. “I’ll let you investigate it,” the astronaut said, with the center thanking him and promising to inform him once they had an answer.
The news of Wilmore’s call to Houston was first reported by Ars Technica, which noted that the communication was recorded by meteorologist Rob Dale from Michigan.
Canadian former astronaut Chris Hadfield, who had served as the commander of the ISS, expressed his concern about the strange incident. “There are quite a few noises I’d prefer not to hear inside my spacecraft, including the one Boeing’s Starliner is making now,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), accompanying his post with the corresponding audio.
There are several noises I'd prefer not to hear inside my spaceship, including this one that @Boeing Starliner is now making. pic.twitter.com/NMMPMo5dtt
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) September 1, 2024
It should be noted that for weeks, teams from Boeing and NASA have been conducting tests to better understand the cause of the problems that arose in the Starliner during flight, particularly with the spacecraft’s thrusters. The main concern was that the Starliner might not be able to generate the necessary thrust to exit orbit and begin its descent to Earth.
“NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with the Crew-9 team next February and that the Starliner will return without a crew,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a press conference following a decision-making committee meeting a few days ago. He justified this decision as a precautionary safety measure but stated that he still relies on both SpaceX and Boeing for astronaut transportation to space, expressing his “100%” confidence that Boeing will ensure the Starliner launches manned again.
