Sunita Williams creates history: First female spacecraft pilot on a test flight
Sunita Williams, 58, has made history as the first female astronaut to fly on the inaugural crewed spacecraft flight, marking her third journey into space.
Indian-American astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams has embarked on her third space mission as the first female spacecraft pilot, piloting a spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. Accompanied by fellow NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore, she is heading toward the International Space Station (ISS). The test flight, featuring the first female spacecraft pilot, encountered multiple delays.
Minutes before liftoff, Sunita radioed mission control with the message, “Let’s go, Calypso,” referring to the name of the Boeing Starliner capsule—“Take us to space and back.”
The Starliner is scheduled to reach the ISS today at around 9:45 pm Indian Standard Time (12:15 PM ET).
Sunita’s mother, Bonnie Pandya, shared that her daughter was in good spirits and “so happy about going.”
Both Sunita and Butch Wilmore are currently performing initial tests on the Starliner spacecraft in orbit. Butch, who took manual control of the spacecraft, described the first six hours as “absolutely fascinating.”
At 10:52 am ET, Boeing’s Starliner successfully lifted off on a ULA Launch Atlas V rocket for the first time. This mission, known as the Crew Flight Test, aims to certify the spacecraft for routine space travel to and from the International Space Station.
Sunita Williams, aged 58, has made history by becoming the first female astronaut to fly on the inaugural flight of a crewed spacecraft. This flight also marks her third journey into space.
The success of the Starliner will determine whether it can be certified for six-month astronaut missions to and from the ISS for NASA, a service already provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Upon their safe arrival at the space station, Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew, which includes NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson praised the two bold astronauts, calling it a historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk congratulated Boeing on the successful launch of its Starliner craft to space.
Sunita Williams, known for her unique habits during space missions, once told reporters that she carries a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and samosas with her.
Both Sunita and Butch will remain at the ISS for about a week before undocking and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft will make a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States on June 10.
This launch marks a significant achievement for the future of space travel. We wish both astronauts safe travels through the stars.
In 2014, both Boeing and SpaceX received funding from NASA’s Commercial Crew program to carry astronauts to the ISS after the US space agency retired its Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Boeing received over USD 4 billion, while SpaceX received about USD 2.6 billion.
Since its first launch on May 30, 2020, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has performed 12 crewed missions to the ISS.
Before Wednesday’s launch, the last attempt to launch Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was scrubbed due to a ground system computer triggering an automatic abort command. Sunita, from Needham, Massachusetts, has a remarkable spaceflight history, including establishing a world record for women with four spacewalks during her first mission in 2006-2007.
Meanwhile, Barry Wilmore, aged 61, has logged 178 days in space and has spent 25 hours and 36 minutes on four spacewalks.
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