Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams along with her crew member, Butch Wilmore, successfully reached the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday. According to an NDTV report, she is the first woman astronaut to pilot a new spacecraft on its maiden crewed test flight to space.
She performed a few dance moves to celebrate her arrival at the station and hugged the other seven astronauts. Wilmore and Williams were welcomed to the station with the traditional ringing of a bell.
US space agency, NASA, took to X to share a glimpse of their arrival.
The post read, "That feeling when you're back on the station! @NASA_Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are greeted by the @Space_Station crew after @BoeingSpace #Starliner's first crewed journey from Earth."
That feeling when you're back on the station! 🕺
@NASA_Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are greeted by the @Space_Station crew after @BoeingSpace #Starliner's first crewed journey from Earth. pic.twitter.com/fewKjIi8u0June 6, 2024AdvertisementThe spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and docked after 26 hours at the ISS. The spacecraft observed a 60-minute delay due to a small technical issue following the detection of a helium leak. The main objective of the mission is to validate the Boeing Starliner as a reliable alternative to the SpaceX Crew Module to transport astronauts under NASA's commercial crew programme.
Mark Nappi, Boeing's Starliner programme chief, stated several things have to go right during Starliner's launch and that on Wednesday "it all lined up”, mentioned a Reuters report.
Advertisement"This is another milestone in this extraordinary history of NASA," the agency's administrator, Bill Nelson, said at a press conference.
Williams and Wilmore supervised Starliner as it autonomously conducted a series of manoeuvres and gradually paved the spacecraft nearer to the orbiting laboratory before docking.
The astronauts ran several crucial tests, including manually flying the new spacecraft during their week-long mission. Both astronauts will further guide the team to perform tests and scientific experiments.
"When I reach the International Space Station, it will be like going back home," Sunita Willaims said.
She added that she was nervous, but experienced no jitters about the fact that she was flying a new spacecraft. Williams has earlier carried an idol of Lord Ganesha and the Bhagavad Gita to space.
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