The Boeing Starliner has been experiencing problems for months, leaving two astronauts stranded in space for months longer than planned.
But the latest problem has people scratching their heads, with a strange sound ‘like sonar’ recorded coming from the plane, which is now docked to the International Space Station (ISS) before it was due to fly home without a crew.
The repeated pulsing made NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, who told Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, he didn’t know what was causing it.
As first reported by Ars Technica, he radioed: ‘I have a question about the Starliner.
‘There’s a strange sound coming through the speakers… I don’t know what’s making it.
‘I’ll do it one more time, and I’ll let you scratch your head and see if you can figure out what’s going on.’
Mission Control agreed it was ‘like a pulsating sound, almost like sonar’ but could not say what caused it, saying they would investigate further.
Mr Wilmore had planned to fly back to Earth with fellow astronaut Sunita Williams, but a helium leak and thrust failure during the journey to the ISS meant the capsule was unreliable.
Now they are still in space and will get another lift with the Dragon Space X capsule in February.
After reports of the strange sound circulated, retired astronaut Chris Hadfield, former ISS commander, shared audio of the sound and said: ‘There are some sounds I’ve never heard inside a spacecraft, including this one the @Boeing Starliner is making right now.’
Although the sound has been compared to sonar from a submarine, it cannot be sonar originating from space because the technique uses sound waves, which cannot occur in space because it is a vacuum.
The next logical answer (ahem), is space ghosting, which is the solution for many who share these sounds online.
Joking aside, there is more than a possibility of a technical explanation, such as when a strange knocking sound was recorded in China’s first spaceflight in 2003 which was due to the difference in pressure between the inner and outer walls of the ship.
One explanation could be some form of interference with the speakers, potentially from other systems on the ISS.
Whatever the reason, it made more news about the Starliner that Boeing couldn’t handle.
It comes after Nasa announced it had to cut two female astronauts from its next crew due to fly to the ISS, to make room on the return journey for Suni Williams and Butch Wimore to return home.
Nasa’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov were due to launch in September on a SpaceX rocket for an orbiting laboratory, but Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were excluded from it.
NASA says it may fly on future missions.
The space agency said it took spaceflight experience and other factors into account in making the decision.
Nasa went private a decade ago, wanting two competing US companies to carry astronauts in the post-shuttle era instead of having to rely on Russia.
Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore are the first Boeing crew, arriving at the space station in June for a week-long stay.
His Starliner capsule will return empty starting next Friday, with the goal of touching down in the New Mexico desert.
Contact the news team by emailing webnews@metro.co.uk.
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