NASA Responds to ‘Strange Noise’ on Starliner After Audio Goes Viral

NASA has said that a “strange noise” coming from Boeing’s currently stranded Starliner spacecraft was feedback from a speaker.
Astronaut Butch Wilmore reported the noise to Mission Control in Houston on Saturday, with the recording subsequently going viral on social media.
“I’ve got a question about Starliner,” Wilmore said. “There’s a strange noise coming through the speaker… I don’t know what’s making it.” Mission Control replied: “It was kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.”
The audio was captured and shared by the Michigan-based meteorologist Rob Dale.
Responding to the noise, NASA’s news chief Cheryl Warner told Newsweek: “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. 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, September 6.”
Wilmore, who along with Sunita “Suni” Williams, has been stuck on the ISS since June, flagged the “strange noises” to Mission Control at Johnson Space Center over the weekend.
In the clip, Wilmore can be heard telling the Houston operator “there’s a strange noise coming from the speaker” before he asks if Houston can connect to it.
“I don’t know what’s making it, but I don’t know if it’s something that’s maybe connected between here and there making that happen,” he added.
Wilmore puts the mic next to Starliner’s speaker and the operator describes the sound as “kind of like a pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping.”
After Wilmore plays the sound one more time, the operator tells him: “Good recording, we will pass it onto the team and let you know what we find.”
Astronaut Chris Hadfield, who has completed three space flights in his career, posted a snippet of the clip on X, formerly Twitter, which has been viewed more than 1.8 million times.
He said: “There are several noises I’d prefer not to hear inside my spaceship, including this one that Boeing Starliner is now making.”
SpaceX founder and X owner Elon Musk commented an exclamation mark in response.
Multiple Reddit threads have been started over the audio, with some speculating about what the sound could be and many making references to iconic film franchise Alien.
When Newsweek contacted Boeing for comment, the airline directed it to NASA.
Starliner was supposed to be a crucial component of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, along with Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon, to help transport astronauts to the ISS with the help of the private sector.
It has made multiple headlines for being marred with setback after setback, ultimately delaying Williams and Wilmore’s return to Earth, which was supposed to take place around June 14. Newsweek has compiled a timeline of the critical events here.
At the end of last month, NASA said both astronauts would return home by February 2025, in a mission operated by SpaceX and not via their original spacecraft. Meanwhile, the Starliner will return uncrewed after being undocked early September.
Update 9/2/24, 11:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.