Nasa Reveals Source of Unusual Sound Reported by Sunita Williams, Wilmore

New Delhi: Following reports of mysterious sounds coming from Boeing's Starliner aircraft, which carried Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS) where they are stuck for nearly three months now, the American space agency has revealed the sources of the sound.

The mysterious "sonar-like" sounds reported by Wilmore aboard the ISS have been identified with Nasa saying that eerie sound was coming from an audio feedback.

Unusual Noises Triggers Speculation

The unusual noises, which emerged from a speaker in Starliner, had triggered widespread speculation and concern over the weekend.

Nasa's Commercial Crew Program attributed the pulsing sounds to an audio configuration issue between the space station and Starliner.

Wilmore had contacted Nasa's Mission Control in Houston to report the strange sounds. In a recorded conversation, Wilmore described the noise as a repetitive, pulsating sound reminiscent of submarine sonar or tapping from outside the spacecraft.

As per a report by Ars Technica, Wilmore has sent the following message to Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston: “I’ve got a question about Starliner. There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker … I don’t know what’s making it.”

The agency highlighted that such occurrences are not uncommon due to the complex nature of the ISS audio system, which interlinks multiple spacecraft and modules.

It also said that astronauts are routinely instructed to report any unusual sounds to mission control as part of standard operating procedures.

Notably, Nasa has given assurance that the noise reported by Wilmore poses no technical threat to the crew, Starliner, or station operations. This includes the upcoming uncrewed undocking of Starliner from the ISS, which is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, September 6.

Sunita Williams Stuck in Space for 3 Month

The sounds had initially sparked concerns due to Starliner's troubled history, including technical issues that have kept astronauts Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard the ISS for nearly three months instead of the planned eight-day mission. However, Nasa's explanation has reduced fears of any new complications with the spacecraft.

The Starliner has been docked at the International Space Station (ISS) for over three months due to helium leakage and several thrusters' failure. The test crew flight was supposed to return to Earth in just a week, but it is now scheduled to fly back to Earth empty on September 6.