Washington, June 7: Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams danced her way to the International Space Station (ISS) in the early hours on Friday, as the Boeing Starliner spacecraft successfully docked to the orbital laboratory. Along with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, she will spend about a week at the ISS.
“Docking confirmed! @BoeingSpace's Starliner docked to the forward facing port of the @Space_Station's Harmony module. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will spend about a week. That feeling when you're back on the station!” NASA said in a post on X.
Later, the seven Expedition 71 crew members gathered with the two crew flight test members for a team portrait aboard the space station. The spacecraft was launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Programme, the mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft.
The Starliner mission aims to carry astronauts and cargo for future NASA missions to low Earth orbit, and beyond.
The crew flight test aims to certify the spacecraft for routine space travel to and from the space station.
