Astronauts Detect Eerie Sonar-Like Noises from Boeing Starliner

For the past several days, astronauts on the ISS have been noticing strange sonar-like noises emanating from the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that’s currently docked at the station. The first detection of these strange noises described as a “pulsing” sonar ping, was when NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore heard it for the first time on August 31, 2024. As of this moment, the source of that noise is still unknown, and this has cast a question of concern on its systems.

Butch Wilmore, NASA astronaut, was the first to catch this strange noise, which came through a speaker inside the Starliner:

“It was like nothing I’d ever heard before in space,”

Wilmore recalled.

“The pulsing noise, almost like a sonar ping, caught me off guard. It was faint but persistent-a surefire indicator that something was amiss.

The noise was immediately phoned back to Mission Control in Houston where engineers could also hear the sound via a direct audio link. Mission Control has since been working round the clock to

It has been an unsettling and puzzling experience for the astronauts flying on board the ISS. Sunita Williams spoke for all of them when she said, “We have trained for years to handle a variety of situations, but this was different. There’s unease inside when you’re in space, and something not predicted draws up. We do believe in the systems, but it’s tough not to let your mind consider what could be causing it.“.

Such an incident has a psychological impact that cannot be exaggerated. Every noise is listened to with importance in the vast silence of space. Their safety was the biggest concern for the crew, but at the same time, they had some duty feeling that required them to know the reason for such an anomaly, as other missions can be based on conclusions formed from their experience.

NEWS 🚨: Astronauts are reporting that Boeing Starliner is emitting strange “sonar like noises”

This is the real audio of it:
PIC.TWITTER.COM/IMUIKFFJ6U

— Latest in space (@latestinspace) SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

The Boeing Starliner, which is designed as the next-generation spacecraft for commercial spaceflight, has advanced audio systems that allow the spacecraft to hear Mission Control. However, those systems are also prone to interference that could turn out to be the cause of the mysterious sounds.

The experts speculate this could be the result of radiofrequency interference or electromagnetic interference from other ISS onboard systems, or possibly the Starliner itself. Some believe that feedback in the audio system in space, or even external signals from nearby equipment or satellites, make the speakers pick up the strange, sonar-like sound.

But with it also came a loud, unidentified noise-an unexplained sound whose origin NASA and Boeing engineers are working hard to pinpoint. So far, though, the investigation hasn’t turned up an answer.

“We are investigating every possibility, from internal systems malfunctioning to external interference,”

said the NASA spokesperson,

“Safety is our number one concern, and we won’t rest until we understand what is occurring.”

That is not the first time that space missions have stumbled upon inexplicable anomalies. For example, in 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts made the sensational claim of being able to hear strange “music” while orbiting the Moon. Those sounds later turned out to have originated from radio interference between the lunar module and the command module. In another similar-type incident, during the STS-83 mission in 1997, some unusual vibrations were felt on board by the astronauts on Space Shuttle Columbia, which eventually turned out to come from a malfunctioning fan.

The sonar-like noises that were recorded on board Starliner joined the long history of unexplained phenomena that cropped up in space exploration. But each of those anomalies, although disconcerting, had something to teach that laid the path for further missions to be safer and more successful.

The anomaly of Starliner is the reason behind NASA taking some precautions. On September 6, 2024, the Starliner was supposed to return to Earth autonomously but was postponed due to ongoing investigations and also past technical problems like helium leaks and thruster failures.

NASA is being very cautious and has decided to return the Starliner to Earth unmanned. The astronauts currently on the ISS, including Wilmore and Williams, are due to return to Earth this February 2025 via the SpaceX Dragon capsule. That it was such a serious incident and the careful eye of safety the spacecraft required prior to manned flights were apparently enough to say just how grave this incident must have been.