In a historic milestone, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams has become the first woman to pilot a new spacecraft on its inaugural crewed test flight to space. On June 5, 58-year-old Sunita Williams, alongside NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard Boeing’s Starline capsule.
The mission, named Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) is a vital step toward certifying the Starliner for regular crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. If gets successful, Starliner will become the second private spacecraft, after SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, to transport astronauts to and from the orbiting laboratory.
For Williams, a veteran of two previous space shuttle missions totaling 322 days in orbit, this flight represents another pioneering milestone in her illustrious career.
During her expeditions aboard the ISS in 2006-2007 and 2012, she set records for the most spacewalks (7) and the longest spacewalk time (50 hours, 40 minutes) by a woman.
Approximately 26 hours after liftoff, the Starliner capsule will attempt to dock with the ISS, carrying Williams, Wilmore, and over 500 pounds of cargo for the orbiting outpost.
The two astronauts are intended to spend approximately a week aboard the station, performing tests and verifying Starliner’s systems before their return to Earth for a parachute-assisted landing in the western United States.
Expanding Frontiers: Commercial Spaceflight’s Reach
Williams’ accomplishment holds special significance given her Indian-Slovenian background. Born to an Indian-American father from Gujarat and a Slovenian-American mother, she has honored her multicultural heritage by bringing Indian and Slovenian items on her past space missions.
While Williams and Wilmore conduct operations aboard the ISS, their groundbreaking mission on Starliner signifies a significant advancement in broadening humanity’s access to space through commercial partnerships.
It further solidifies Williams’ legacy as one of the most distinguished women in the records of space exploration.
Leave feedback about this