Sunita Williams goes to space!
Sunita Williams is an Indian-origin US astronaut who works for NASA and has visited the International Space Station (ISS) twice, in 2006 and 2012.
Williams was supposed to go to space for the third time last month on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. However, the spaceflight was postponed due to a problem with the rocket.
After some delays, she flew to space again on 5th June 2024 along with Barry Wilmore and successfully reached the ISS on 6th June 2024.
Happy dance goes viral!
Sunita Williams did a joyful dance upon reaching the ISS, swinging her arms playfully as she floated inside.
Though she couldn't do full Bharatnatyam steps in space, her joy was clear. After all, going to space is a big achievement.
She also became the first woman to fly and test a new crewed spacecraft during its first mission.
Importance of this mission!
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore are the first to fly the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft. On the way to the ISS, they tested the spacecraft's performance.
They'll spend about a week in space doing experiments before returning to Earth.
This mission will help NASA test the new spacecraft's performance and see if it can be used as an alternative to the SpaceX spacecraft they currently use to transport astronauts.
If all goes well, NASA will use both Boeing and SpaceX spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the ISS.
