On Saturday, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore raised concerns about strange noises coming from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. He described the sound as a “pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.” The incident occurred just days before the troubled spacecraft was set to return to Earth uncrewed, leaving Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams on the International Space Station.
NASA has reported multiple helium leaks and malfunctions in the Starliner’s Reaction Control Systems. In response, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson enlisted SpaceX to bring the astronauts back home. Former astronaut Chris Hadfield expressed his unease about the situation, stating, “There are several noises I’d prefer not to hear inside my spaceship, including this one that Boeing Starliner is now making.”
Elon Musk reacted with a simple exclamation mark to Hadfield’s comment. The article also mentioned past instances of astronauts hearing unusual sounds in space, highlighting the need for caution with the Starliner. It emphasized the importance of undocking the spacecraft from the ISS to prevent any potential catastrophic events.