NASA has identified a “strange noise” coming from Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which is due to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth this weekend.
NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore first reported the noise on August 31, which NASA described as “a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.” However, investigations have found that the sounds came from the speaker feedback loop between the space station and Starliner and the matter is considered benign.
The incident is the latest in a series of curveballs for Starliner, which began with helium leaks and thruster issues on the flight to the ISS in early June. The planned eight-day mission, the first crewed test flight for Boeing’s multibillion-dollar spacecraft that NASA wants to develop as a rival to SpaceX’s Dragon, will end on September 7 (AEST) when Starliner heads home without its two astronauts.
Wilmore and fellow Starliner crew member Suni Williams will remain on the ISS until February after NASA decided a crewed Starliner flight was too risky. The uncrewed capsule is scheduled to land in New Mexico and Wilmore and Williams will return on a scheduled Dragon flight.
A Michigan-based meteorologist named Rob Dale recorded the conversation between Wilmore and Mission Control in Houston, and Arstechnica first reported it. At the time, neither Wilmore nor NASA appeared overly concerned about the sounds, noting that space can generate many odd noises.
On September 2, NASA issued the following statement on the matter. “A pulsing sound from a speaker in 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 space station audio system is complex, allowing multiple spacecraft and modules to be interconnected, and it is common to experience noise and feedback.”
NASA says the sounds will not prevent Starliner from returning to Earth on the weekend. In what is likely to be one of the most highly anticipated ISS undocking and return sequences to date, Starliner is due to detach from the ISS at 8.04 a.m. September 7 (AEST) and land near New Mexico’s White Sands Space Harbor about six hours later. NASA is making the undocking procedures publicly available via its streaming platforms.
NASA paid Boeing USD4.2 billion to develop Starliner as an alternative to the Dragon spacecraft – currently the only US spacecraft capable of shuttling astronauts and supplies to and from the ISS. However, Starliner, which remains uncertified to fly humans on a regular basis, has incurred another USD1.6 billion in cost overruns, which the aerospace manufacturer has had to bear.
There is some speculation Boeing may walk away from the contract. However, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently said the newly installed Boeing CEO, Kelly Ortberg, told him they would persist with Starliner’s development.
Concerning this weekend’s return and NASA’s decision to operate it uncrewed, Boeing said it would “continue to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft… We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”
