'Strange noises' coming from Starliner are quite common, says NASA

The strange sounds coming from Starliner are not so strange after all. NASA has revealed what caused the noise which astronaut Butch Wilmore first reported about on Saturday. The space agency said on Monday that it had been identified as feedback from a speaker inside the spacecraft.

"The feedback from the speaker was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner," NASA said.

It added that the "pulsing" sound had stopped.

On Saturday, Wilmore contacted NASA andinformed them about the noise. "I've got a question about Starliner," Wilmore radioed Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "There's a strange noise coming through the speaker ... I don't know what's making it."

NASA said that with multiple spacecraft being connected to each other, feedback is common. It added that the strange sounds do not impact the ISS or the astronauts in any way.

"The space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be interconnected, and it is common to experience noise and feedback," it said.

The Starliner is set to undertake a lonely journey back home on September 6 and the issue is not going to affect its schedule.

"The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 6," NASA added.

Also Read:Astronaut reports 'strange noises' from Starliner that took Sunita Williams to space

The pulsating sound added to the month-long problems surrounding Starliner as it prepares to undock from the ISS and return to Earth on autopilot, making a landing in the New Mexico desert.

Starliner sound audio

The audio of the conversation between Wilmore and the ground station caused panic among the public. Wilmore informed Mission Control that he was not sure if an oddity in the connection between the station and the spacecraft was causing the noise, or something else. He asked them to listen in. Moments later, they were linked via "hardline" to listen to audio inside Starliner.

Wilmore then put his microphone up to the speaker inside Starliner. An audible pinging followed which Mission Control also heard. "Alright Butch, that one came through. It was kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping."

"I'll do it one more time, and I'll let y'all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what's going on," Wilmore replied. The sound then repeated itself.

Notably, the audio was recorded and shared by a Michigan-based meteorologist named Rob Dale.

Sunita Williams and Wilmore went to the ISS aboard Starliner on June 5 for an eight-day trip. However, problems with the Starliner meant they could not come back until it was fixed. Now NASA has pushed back their return date to some time in February next year aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.