NASA’s astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams, of Indian origin, has safely reached the International Space Station (ISS), her third visit to the orbiting platform. This time she flew a brand new spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, which she helped design and fly.
When she reached the ISS, she had a little “dance party” and hugged the seven other crew members. “A big thank you to family and friends who went through this [moment] for a long time. I think you’re happy that we’re not with you anymore and that we have another family here, which is just wonderful,” said Ms. Williams, who has been to the ISS twice, once on a shuttle and then on board from a Russian Soyuz ship.
Ahead of her time in space, Ms. Williams, 59, said she is a little nervous but has “no jitters” about flying in a new spacecraft and once she reaches the International Space Station “it will be like going back home ”.
NASA confirmed to NDTV that Ms Williams will eat ‘fish curry’, a special Indian dish, during the spaceflight to make it feel like home for the veteran astronaut.
On previous flights she had stuffed herself with samosas. NASA has confirmed to NDTV that “Suni” will not be taking samosas on this mission. Her love for Indian cuisine stems from her parental lineage.
Mrs. Williams, born the son of Dr. Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya, has once again created history by becoming the first woman to fly on the maiden mission of a new human-rated spacecraft.
Ms. Williams, a Navy-trained pilot, has spent a total of 322 days in space. She held the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut, but that has since been overtaken by Peggy Whitson with 10 spacewalks.
Ahead of her flight, Ms Williams told NDTV that she will take a statue of Lord Ganesh on the commercial crew flight as it was her good luck charm. She added that she was more spiritual than religious and was happy that Lord Ganesh was with her in the room.
Earlier, she carried copies of the Bhagwad Gita into space. She also said she liked samosas. Among her other passions, she is also a marathon runner and ran one while on the ISS.
Ms Williams’ father was a neuroanatomist born in Jhulasan, Mehsana district of Gujarat, but later migrated to the US and married Bonnie Pandya, a Slovenian. NASA says she was selected as an astronaut in 1998 and after the Space Shuttle was retired in 2015, she was chosen to be part of the select group of astronauts who would fly in NASA’s commercial crew program.
NASA selected Space X and Boeing to create new spacecraft that would transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station, and Space
The Boeing Starliner suffered many delays and reached the ISS on its maiden flight.
She flew with 61-year-old astronaut Barry Eugene “Butch” Wilmore, a Navy test pilot who has flown into space twice. Both veterans were launched on a United Launch Alliance, Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station. The astronauts will spend about a week in the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute- and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States of America, NASA says.
Notably, Ms. Williams was given the opportunity to name the spacecraft she would fly in and she named it “Calypso,” after the famous ship on which French oceanographer and legendary filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau explored the oceans when she was a student .
There is also a school named after her, the “Sunita Williams Elementary School” in the town of Needham in the US, and if all goes well, she will interact with schoolchildren from the space station on June 10.
According to NASA, “Suni” and her husband Michael enjoy hanging out with their dogs, exercising, working on houses, cars, planes, hiking and camping. As a Navy test pilot, she has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.