Sunita’s Third Space Mission

Blog Credit : Trupti Thakur

Image Courtesy : Google

Sunita’s Third Space Mission

 

Sunita Williams, a veteran Indian American astronaut, is preparing for her third space mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). She will be piloting Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its inaugural crewed flight, known as the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, scheduled for launch on May 6, 2024.

 

Mission Details

• Launch date: May 6, 2024, at 10:34 PM EDT
• Launch vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket
• Launch site: Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
• Crew: Sunita Williams (pilot) and Barry “Butch” Wilmore (commander)
• Mission duration: Approximately 9 days (docking at ISS on May 8, return to Earth around May 15)

 

Significance

• First crewed flight for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
• Test of end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth
• Marks a major milestone in providing NASA with a reliable, redundant system for ferrying astronauts to the ISS
• Successful mission paves the way for regular Starliner crew rotations starting in 2025, alternating with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon

 

Sunita Williams’ Spaceflights Experience and Rewards

• Expedition 14/15 (December 9, 2006 – June 22, 2007):Launched with STS-116 crew, served as Flight Engineer, set female record with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes
• Expedition 32/33 (July 14 – November 18, 2012):Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, spent four months conducting research on ISS, held record for total cumulative spacewalk time (50 hours and 40 minutes)
• Recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal (twice), Legion of Merit, Navy Commendation Medal (twice), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Humanitarian Service Medal, among others
• Inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2022

 

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program

• Established in 2010 to develop private spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to and from the ISS
• Contracts awarded to SpaceX ($2.6 billion) and Boeing ($4.2 billion) in 2014
• Aims to end U.S. reliance on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft and resume launching American astronauts from U.S. soil
• SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has been operational since May 2020, carrying 50 astronauts, cosmonauts, and civilians to orbit in 12 missions

With Sunita Williams at the helm, the Starliner spacecraft is poised to become a vital component in maintaining a continuous human presence on the International Space Station.

 

More About The Mission:

Sunita (Suni) Williams is getting trained for her third mission aboard the International Space Station. She is being prepared to be the pilot of the Crew Flight Test mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft – the first crewed flight for that vehicle.

Who is Sunita Williams?

Known for her record-breaking accomplishments, Sunita Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, to Mumbai Indian-American neuroanatomist Deepak Pandya and Slovene-American Ursuline Bonnie (Zalokar) Pandya.

She was selected as an astronaut by the US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in June 1998. She received her commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987.

As per NASA, Williams has spent a total of 322 days in space over the course of her two missions. With 50 hours and 40 minutes, she is second on the list of total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut.

The previous two missions of Sunita Williams 

1. Expedition 14/15 (December 9, 2006 to June 22, 2007:Sunita Williams had launched with the crew of STS-116 on December 9, 2006. She had then docked with the International Space Station on December 11, 2006.

Williams had served as a flight engineer in the Expedition 14 crew. While onboard, she established a world record for females with four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes, NASA said. Astronaut Peggy Whitson subsequently broke the record in 2008 with a total of five spacewalks.

Williams concluded her tour of duty as a member of the Expedition 15 crew. She returned to Earth with the STS-117 crew on June 22, 2007.

 

2. Expedition 32/33 (July 14 to November 18, 2012): Sunita Williams launched on July 14, 2012, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, along with Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Williams had spent four months conducting research and exploration aboard the orbiting laboratory. During their Expedition, Williams and Hoshide performed three spacewalks to replace a component that relays power from the space station’s solar arrays to its systems and repair an ammonia leak on a station radiator.

“With 50 hours and 40 minutes, Williams once again held the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut (has since been overtaken by Peggy Whitson with 10 spacewalks). Williams has spent a cumulative total of 322 days in space,” NASA said.

What’s William’s third space mission

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will lift off aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and dock at the orbiting laboratory, where they will stay for about a week.

The mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft.

The mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth in the western United States.

“Following a successful crewed flight test, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and systems for crewed missions to the space station,” the US space agency added.

 

 

 

Blog By : Trupti Thakur