Sunita Williams, 58, an Indian-origin astronaut serves as the pilot for the flight test of NASA’s Boeing starliner spacecraft. With Barry Wilmore, 61 as the mission commander, they left for the ISS after multiple delays. May 6, is when the initial launch was attempted but was postponed due to leak checks and rocket repairs.
On this journey, they will supposedly complete several flight objectives which include manually flying the Starliner, and will return approximately after a week. 760 pounds of cargo is also being lifted in the spacecraft.
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After this successful mission, Boeing will become the second private company, alongside SpaceX dealing in transport to and from the ISS. Following this Crew Flight Test, Boeing and Nasa will also certify Starliner with long-duration ISS operational missions.
Sunita Williams already logged 322 days in Space
Masters from Florida Institute Of Technology in engineering management, Sunita has traveled to space twice before. NASA Space Shuttle, in 2006 was her first expedition, and the Russian Soyuz Capsule in 2012, was the second, logging 322 total days in space.
Both Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore were commanders of the International Space Station.
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Sunita Williams video goes viral on Instagram
The video showcasing William and Wilmore prepping for their take-off got more than 1000 likes in two hours.“Indian-Origin #NASA astronaut #SunitaWilliams created history by becoming the first woman to fly on the maiden mission of a new human-rated spacecraft,” says the caption of the video shared by @airnewsalerts highlighting Williams’ historic achievement.
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This Article has been written by Ms Anuja Choudhary, a public policy enthusiast and Masters in Philosophy from LSR, DU. With a keen eye for authenticity, she is currently honing her craft as a writer to pen down the voices with utmost sincerity and integrity.
