Indian-Origin Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to Fly on Boeing's Starliner
Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is set to make history by flying to space on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for the first time on Tuesday. Williams will be accompanied by Butch Wilmore, and the flight will launch from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 8:04 a.m. IST on May 7. The spacecraft will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
The mission, known as the Crew Flight Test (CFT), marks the maiden mission of the human-rated Starliner spacecraft and will last approximately 10 days. The flight aims to demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system. NASA anticipates a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for a successful liftoff.
Williams, 59, will be the mission pilot on her third trip to space. She previously flew to space in 2006 and 2012, spending a cumulative total of 322 days in orbit. Williams has named the Starliner spacecraft 'Calypso' after the ship of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau, reflecting her love of the ocean.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed his support for the mission in a post on X, stating, "Tomorrow, Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni lift off to the stars. Their mission: to test #Starliner for commercial flight. Safe travels, star sailors. You are the pride of our great nation”.
The Starliner spacecraft has a diameter of 15 feet (4.56 meters) and can carry up to four astronauts or a mix of crew and cargo for NASA missions to low Earth orbit as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
