Indian-origin astronaut Captain Sunita Williams, known for her love of samosas even in space, is gearing up for another journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere. This time, she will be aboard the brand-new spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner. The liftoff is set to happen from the Kennedy Space Center on May 7, 2024, at 8.04 am India time. Despite feeling a bit nervous, Williams expresses confidence in flying on a new spacecraft, likening her arrival at the International Space Station to a return home.
Born to Dr. Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya, the 59-year-old Williams will make history as the first woman to fly on the inaugural mission of a new human-rated spacecraft. A seasoned navy test pilot, she has logged two previous spaceflights in 2006 and 2012, accumulating a total of 322 days in space. While once holding the record for the most spacewalk time by a female astronaut, Williams now prepares to pilot the Crew Flight Test mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner, marking her third mission to the International Space Station.
Williams’s father, a neuroanatomist from Gujarat, India, migrated to the USA, where he married Bonnie Pandya, of Slovenian descent. Williams, who was selected as an astronaut in 1998, has embraced her cultural heritage, planning to carry a statue of Lord Ganesh, a symbol of good luck, on her upcoming flight. She identifies as more spiritual than religious and has previously taken copies of the Bhagavad Gita to space, alongside her beloved samosas. Additionally, she is an avid marathon runner and has even completed a marathon while aboard the ISS.
As India develops its own human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan, Dr. M Mohan of ISRO’s Human Space Flight Center commends Williams’s latest mission, expressing pride in her achievements. Meanwhile, NASA’s partnership with SpaceX and Boeing aims to transport astronauts to the ISS, with SpaceX already conducting missions since 2020. Williams’s upcoming flight with Boeing, albeit delayed, signals progress in the space agency’s endeavors.
Teamed with astronaut Barry Eugene “Butch” Wilmore, Williams will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the ISS. The mission, expected to last about a week, will culminate in a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern USA. Notably, Williams named her spacecraft “Calypso,” a homage to Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s famed ship.
With a packed schedule of flight routines and the weight of historic significance, Williams anticipates a fulfilling mission aboard the Starliner, a spacecraft she helped develop. As she embarks on this journey with Lord Ganesh by her side, Williams embodies the spirit of exploration and innovation, poised to leave her mark on space exploration history once again.