Sunita Williams Becomes ISS Commander for Second Time, Rescue Mission Launches This Week

New Delhi: Indian-origin Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams has officially taken over as the commander of the International Space Station (ISS). This will mark her second time leading the ISS. Earlier, Williams served as the commander of the ISS during her stay onboard ISS Expedition 33 on September 17, 2012.  She holds the distinction for being the the second woman to achieve the feat.

As ISS commander, Williams will supervise various operations, experiments and research activities on orbiting laboratory. Her leadership comes at a crucial time as a rescue mission is set to launch this week.

Williams Replaces Oleg Kononenko as ISS Commander 

Williams replaced Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko as the ISS commander at 10:15am ET on Sunday (US local time). Kononenko is scheduled to Earth on Monday with NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub.

In a post on X, the International Space Station wrote, "Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko hands over station command to NASA astronaut Suni Williams at 10:15am ET on Sunday. Kononenko returns to Earth on Monday with NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub (sic)."

Sunita Williams, along with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, has been stuck in space since June 5, 2024, after launching aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for its first crewed flight.

Initially planned for just eight days, her space mission got extended by over three months after issues cropped up with the Starliner spacecraft, delaying their return to Earth. Earlier in August, Nasa announced that the duo would return to Earth not earlier than February 2025.

Despite the unexpected extension of her mission, Williams had earlier displayed her enthusiasm for being in space, stating, "This is my happy place. I love being up here in space."

Both Williams and Wilmore are utilising their time onboard the orbiting laboratory by by engaging in routine maintenance and scientific experiments.