Published 09:54 IST, June 7th 2024
Viral Video: Sunita Williams Dances Upon Arrival at Space Station
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams returns to the International Space Station for her third mission.
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Viral Video: A video capturing the Boeing Starliner with Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore celebrating their successful rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) has gone viral all over the internet. Sunita Williams, 59-year-old astronaut has become the first woman to pilot and test a new crewed spacecraft on its maiden mission.
Renowned for her previous endeavours in carrying an idol of Lord Ganesh and the Bhagavad Gita to space, Sunita has commenced her third mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
After the arrival at the ISS, Williams and Wilmore were greeted with the ringing of a bell, an old ISS tradition.
Sharing her excitement, Sunita Williams on social media said, "That's the way to get things going," while speaking about her "dance party". She called her crewmates, "another family" and thanked them for a great welcome.
Williams and Willmore are the first crew to fly Starliner.
They successfully docked the Boeing spacecraft to the ISS after a 26-hour journey from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
During their journey to the ISS, the crew performed several tests, including manually piloting Starliner for the first time in space. They will spend about a week in space and will assist with various tests and conduct scientific experiments.
On their return home on the Starliner, they are scheduled to make a landing on land and not in the sea. NASA has been seeking an alternative to the SpaceX Crew Module for astronaut transportation, and the Boeing Starliner is proving to be a viable option as part of the commercial crew program.
Sunita Williams, before the launch, had admitted to being nervous, but she expressed confidence and no apprehension about flying in a new spacecraft.
She said "When I reach the International Space Station, it will be like going back home,"
She was given the chance to give a name to the spacecraft, and she chose "Calypso" after the renowned ship that the French oceanographer and legendary filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau used to explore the oceans when she was still a student.
Updated 10:47 IST, June 7th 2024