Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams created history by entering space from Boeing Starliner
Boeing Starliner took off today on its third attempt with Sunita Williams
New Delhi:
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams has created history by flying into space. She is the first woman to test a spacecraft. Incidentally, she had also helped design this spacecraft in the last decade. Ms. Williams flew over India during her space journey.
He lifted off on a Boeing Starliner spacecraft on an Atlas 5 rocket at 8:22 pm (IST) from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is his third space flight.
The launch took place on the third attempt and was nominal. Starliner found the right orbit and will connect with the International Space Station a day later. Today, America has three crewed spacecraft in orbit simultaneously – Boeing Starliner, SpaceX Crew Dragon and the International Space Station.
NASA says if all goes well, the Starliner will dock at the forward port of the station’s Harmony module and Ms Williams and her co-passenger Butch Wilmore will remain on the space station for about a week to test the spacecraft and its subsystems, after which NASA will work to complete final certification of the transportation system for the orbiting laboratory as part of its commercial crew program.
NASA said the Starliner is designed by astronauts for astronauts and is the most advanced crew module ever flown.
Ms Williams, the poster girl for women aspiring to fly into space, soared into the sky aboard a brand new spacecraft.
Earlier, the Indian-origin astronaut had spent 322 days in space and held the record for the maximum number of hours of spacewalking by a woman, but the record was later broken by Peggy Whitson.
This time, she’s making history by becoming the first woman to fly on the first crewed mission of a new spacecraft.
The 59-year-old admitted she was a little nervous, but said she had no fears about flying in the new spacecraft, which she designed with engineers from NASA and Boeing. “When I get to the International Space Station, it will be like going back home,” she said.
The approximately 10-day mission will help Starliner prove its spaceworthiness. It will also prove the team’s readiness to obtain NASA certification and fly long-duration missions for the US space agency.
The Starliner is behind schedule and over budget. Some say the problems Boeing is facing in its aviation business could also impact its space business.
In 2014 NASA awarded it a $4.2 billion contract to build it from scratch and ten years later it has still not seen a single successful human space flight. In contrast, SpaceX was awarded a similar contract to develop the Crew Dragon, which cost an estimated $2.6 billion. SpaceX is already ferrying astronauts to the ISS using its crew module.