9 months ago
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(NewsNation) — NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore radioed Mission Control connected Saturday astir unusual noises coming from the Boeing Starliner's speakers.
"I've got a question astir Starliner. There's a unusual sound coming done the talker … I don't cognize what's making it," helium said successful a signaling of the audio shared by Michigan-based meteorologist Rob Dale.
Via "hardline," operators astatine Johnson Space Center successful Houston were capable to perceive successful connected Starliner's pulsating soundtrack with Wilmore.
"Alright Butch, that 1 came through," Mission Control responded. "It was benignant of similar a pulsing noise, astir similar a sonar ping."
The sounds triggered societal media buzz astir everything from planetary occupation to further complications with the troubled Boeing trade and adjacent imaginable signs from aliens, erstwhile NASA astronaut José Hernández said helium thinks it's conscionable interference.
"It's astir apt picking up immoderate sound from the International Space Station and transmitted it done the talker system," helium told "NewsNation Now." "I mean, there's been cases wherever if we person our talker strategy configured wrong, we tin adjacent prime up a short-wave dependable and conversations from Earth onto our talker system."
He explained that the ISS is acold from quiet, with equipment, pumps and different machines emitting frequencies astatine each hours.
"It doesn't dependable similar feedback. It sounds similar it's picking up thing from immoderate benignant of centrifugal oregon or, oregon instrumentality that's adjacent wrong the capsule oregon wrong the International Space Station." Hernández said.
Wilmore and workfellow Suni Williams' enactment astatine the ISS is scheduled to past astir 8 months pursuing problems with the craft's thrusters and helium leaks.
Those method difficulties, Hernández emphasized, are not astatine each related to these mysterious noises.
"I deliberation this is thing wholly independent, and not going to impact the show of the Starliner," helium said. "This is much of a calm problem."
The Starliner is acceptable to return to Earth without its crew Sunday, portion Williams and Wilmore volition instrumentality location aboard a SpaceX craft successful February.
