**Mysterious Pulsating Sounds Plague NASA Astronauts on Starliner: What’s Really Going On?**
**NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams are currently stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) and facing a peculiar problem.**
**Their spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner, has been emitting strange, pulsating noises that have left Mission Control scratching their heads.**
**With the Starliner scheduled to return to Earth on autopilot in the coming days, these unsettling sounds are raising serious concerns.**
**The drama unfolded as Butch Wilmore made a desperate call to Mission Control, capturing the eerie noises with his phone.**
**In the recorded exchange, the astronauts and ground staff were initially baffled by the sound’s origin.**
**After a few attempts, a steady, pulsating noise, reminiscent of a sonar ping, came through clearly.**
**Mission Control was intrigued: “Butch, that one came through… It was kind of like a pulsating noise, almost like a sonar ping,” they noted.**
**Wilmore, with a hint of frustration, replied, “I’ll do it one more time and let you all scratch your heads and see if you can figure out what’s going on.”**
**The noise, he confirmed, was coming from the Starliner’s speaker system.**
**This issue comes just as the Starliner is about to undock from the ISS and attempt a return to Earth.**
**The spacecraft is set to make an autonomous descent, aiming for a landing in the New Mexico desert.**
**The mission, which was meant to last eight days, has been plagued by delays and technical failures since its launch on June 5.**
**Thruster malfunctions and a leak in the Starliner capsule have thwarted the astronauts’ scheduled return.**
**NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, has indicated that the astronauts might have to rely on SpaceX Crew-9’s return flight as a contingency plan.**
“We have been working with SpaceX to ensure they are ready to respond with Crew-9 as a contingency,” Stich explained.
**“Our prime option is to return Butch and Suni on Starliner. However, we have done the requisite planning to make sure we have other options open.”**
**The Starliner mission was intended to be a major milestone for Boeing, whose spacecraft program has faced numerous delays and budget overruns.**
**Boeing had pinned high hopes on this mission to prove the reliability of the Starliner after extensive tests.**
**Let’s rewind to the troubled history of Starliner.**
**Boeing’s Starliner was supposed to be a key player in NASA’s plan to shuttle astronauts to the ISS, but the project has been plagued by technical setbacks.**
**After an initial test flight in December 2019, the spacecraft faced critical issues, including software glitches and orbital insertion problems, which led to a botched mission.**
**Boeing was forced to go back to the drawing board, resulting in a series of delays and cost overruns that put the program under intense scrutiny.**
**The spacecraft’s second uncrewed test flight in August 2021 showed improvements but still left many questions unanswered.**
**Finally, in June 2023, Boeing launched the first crewed mission, which was meant to be a triumphant moment.**
**Instead, the mission has turned into a high-stakes drama with the astronauts stuck in orbit, and now, strange noises adding to the suspense.**
**As the countdown to the Starliner’s autopilot landing approaches, the unsettling sound is just one of many issues weighing heavily on the mission.**
**Will the mysterious noise prove to be a minor glitch or a sign of deeper trouble?**
**With the world watching and the astronauts’ safety at stake, the situation remains tense.**
**The next few days will be critical in determining if Boeing’s Starliner can salvage its reputation or if the mission will end in further controversy.**
**Stay tuned as we continue to monitor this unfolding space saga.**