On Thursday the Boeing Starliner with Bharatiya-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore safely docked with the International Space Station (ISS).
The 59-year-old astronaut has become the first woman to pilot and test a new crewed spacecraft on its maiden mission.
Williams, who has earlier carried an idol of Lord Ganesh and the Bhagavad Gita to space, is back on the ISS for her third trip.
Hugs all around! The Expedition 71 crew greets Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni aboard @Space_Station after #Starliner docked at 1:34 p.m. ET on June 6. pic.twitter.com/wQZAYy2LGH
— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 6, 2024
She performed a little dance and hugged the seven other astronauts aboard the ISS to celebrate her arrival at the space station.
Williams and Wilmore were welcomed by the ringing of a bell, which is an old ISS tradition. Sunita Williams said while speaking about her dance party, ‘That’s the way to get things going’.
Calling her crewmembers “another family”, she thanked them for “such a great welcome”. Ms Williams and Mr Willmore are the first crew to fly Starliner.
Listen to the @Space_Station crew's remarks welcoming #Starliner Crew Flight Test commander Butch Wilmore and pilot @Astro_Suni to ISS after entering today at 3:45 p.m. ET. pic.twitter.com/2TGVNQW89r
— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 6, 2024
They successfully docked the Boeing spacecraft to the ISS about 26 hours after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The two NASA astronauts monitored Starliner as it conducted a series of maneuvers to bring the spacecraft closer to the orbiting laboratory before docking.
Starliner to the stars! ✨
At 10:52am ET, @BoeingSpace #Starliner lifted off on a @ULALaunch Atlas V for the first time with @NASA_Astronauts aboard. This Crew Flight Test aims to certify the spacecraft for routine space travel to and from the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/WDQKOrE5B6
— NASA (@NASA) June 5, 2024
For about an hour docking was delayed due to technical glitches like minor helium leaks. The crew completed a series of tests on the way to the ISS including manually flying Starliner for the first time in space.
They will spend about a week in space and will assist with many tests and conduct scientific experiments. They are scheduled to make a landing on land and not in the sea on their return home on the Starliner.
NASA has always wanted an alternative to the SpaceX Crew Module to ferry astronauts. The Boeing Starliner is shaping into just that as part of the commercial crew program.
Comments