Sunita (Suni) Williams, who is a popular astronaut, known for her number of achievements in space exploration, is set to travel for her third space mission. As per the report, Williams has been undergoing training for her third mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS)- which is a multi-nation laboratory, orbiting 248 miles (400 km) above the earth's surface.
In the latest mission, she has been set to pilot the Crew Flight Test mission on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and this will mark the vehicle's inaugural crewed flight. Here is everything you need to know about the new mission:
Crew arrival media event
The ‘crew arrival media event’ is scheduled for April 25, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- Key figures who are expected to attend are:
- Jenn Kunz, who is the associate director at NASA Kennedy
- Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- NASA astronauts - Butch Wilmore, and Sunita Williams.
Sunita Williams: About her history
Sunita Williams was born in Euclid (Ohio), to Indian-American neuroanatomist family- Deepak Pandya and Slovene-American Ursuline Bonnie (Zalokar) Pandya.
Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, where she received her commission as a banner in the US Navy from the US Naval Academy in May 1987.
Previously, Williams has completed two missions to the ISS:
- Expedition 14/15 (December 9, 2006, to June 22, 2007)
- Expedition 32/33 (July 14 to November 18, 2012)
About the upcoming mission- Third Space Mission
Williams will be accompanied by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore in the liftoff of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Mission and Objective of the mission
The mission reportedly aims at testing the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, which includes the launch by docking and return to Earth in the western United States.
This mission will be the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft and it is crucial in certifying the system for future crewed missions to the ISS.
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