New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is all set to fly to space on Boeing’s Starliner on Tuesday, along with Butch Wilmore.
The flight is expected to take off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 8.04 a.m. IST on May 7 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
The 59-year-old is set to create history by being the first woman to fly on the maiden mission of a new human-rated spacecraft.
This will be Sunita’s third flight to space — the first in 2006 and the second in 2012.
According to NASA, “Sunita has spent a cumulative total of 322 days in space.”
“When I reach the International Space Station, it will be like going back home,” she was quoted as saying to NDTV.
Sunita, who will serve as the mission pilot, has named the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft “Calypso” for her love of the ocean.
It is also “in reference to the ship of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau, who sailed across the world on his own ship bearing the same name,” NASA shared in a post on X.com.
Meanwhile, NASA predicts about a 95 per cent chance of favourable weather conditions at the launch pad for a liftoff.
The mission called Crew Flight Test (CFT) will last about 10 days and will demonstrate the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system.
“Tomorrow, Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni lift off to the stars,” Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, said in a post on X.
“Their mission: to test #Starliner for commercial flight. Sate travels, star sailors. You are the pride of our great nation,” he added.
The Starliner spacecraft, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56 meters), is capable of carrying up to four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit for the agency’s Commercial Crew Programme.
–IANS
rvt/uk
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
