Starliner’s troubled space capsule begins to emit ‘strange’ noises

Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule, docked at the International Space Station since June, has begun to emit strange noises, a crew member has reported.

On Saturday, US time, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore detected some strange noises coming from a speaker inside the Starliner spacecraft.

The troubled Boeing Starliner spacecraft that launched Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station.Credit: AP

“I’ve got a question about Starliner,” Wilmore told mission control in Houston. “There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker ... I don’t know what’s making it.”

After some discussion, Wilmore got mission control to listen in to the Starliner capsule for themselves.

“Alright Butch, that one came through,” mission control radioed up to Wilmore. “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. “Alright, over to you. Call us if you figure it out.”

A series of thruster failures and helium leaks in the new capsule marred the test of the Starliner in June. What should have been an eight-day mission has extended to eight months, as NASA, Boeing and rival company SpaceX determined the next course of action.

Last week, NASA officials deemed issues with Starliner’s propulsion system too risky to bring its first crew home as planned, dealing a major blow to Boeing’s struggling space program.

The decision has left NASA astronauts Wilmore and Suni Williams trapped in the International Space Station, as NASA reconfigures upcoming crew rotation missions to the orbiting station.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are staying longer than expected on the International Space Station.Credit: AP

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is due to launch two NASA astronauts in late September on a Crew Dragon spacecraft that will bring Wilmore and Williams home next year in February. The Starliner is expected to return to earth with no crew aboard.

NASA on Friday cut two astronauts from the next crew to make room on the return trip for the two stuck at the International Space Station.

NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch in September aboard a SpaceX rocket for the orbiting laboratory. The duo will return with Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in February.

Bumped from the SpaceX flight: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson. NASA said they could fly on future missions.

The space agency said it took into account spaceflight experience and other factors in making the decision.

After the US Space Shuttles retired in 2011, the US relied on Russia to ferry crews to the space station until SpaceX began taking astronauts in 2020.

The two countries have continued to trade seats, even as relations between the Kremlin and Washington deteriorate.

Next month, NASA’s Don Pettit will be launching to the space station while NASA’s Tracy Dyson will be returning to Earth on Russian capsules.

NASA turned to private businesses a decade ago, wanting two competing US companies ferrying astronauts in the post-shuttle era.

The pivot to the private space industry has spurred competition between SpaceX, which operates the Crew Dragon, and Boeing, which was seeking certification for the Starliner in the June mission before it was marred by the malfunctions.

with Reuters, AP

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