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NASA Explains ‘Strange Noise’ Heard From Boeing Starliner Spacecraft
NASA has revealed a strange ‘pulsing sound’ heard coming from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on Saturday, August 31, was caused by feedback from a speaker.Astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore contacted NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, on Saturday to ask about the sounds heard coming from the Starliner while the spacecraft was docked to the International Space Station.“There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker…I don’t know what’s making it,” Wilmore says, in the audio released by NASA.“Alright Butch, that one came through it was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping,” a man replies.In a statement provided to Storyful, NASA said the pulsing sound had been caused by 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,” the statement said.“The crew is asked to contact mission control when they hear sounds originating in the comm system. The speaker feedback Wilmore reported has no technical impact to the crew, Starliner, or station operations, including Starliner’s uncrewed undocking from the station no earlier than Friday, Sept. 6,” the NASA statement concluded.NASA said the pulsating sound had since stopped. Credit: NASA via Storyful