New Delhi: Captain Sunita Williams will fly to space for the third time on Tuesday. He is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center at 8:04 a.m. (IST). The retired US Navy captain will fly the mission in a new Boeing Starliner. Captain Williams, a veteran of two space missions in 2006 and 2012, will be the first woman to fly on the first flight of the new space shuttle. Williams, born to Dr. Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya, who spent 322 days at the site for their work, shows perseverance and pioneering spirit. Her spacewalk lasted 50 hours and 40 minutes, breaking the record for the longest time spent outside a space shuttle by a female astronaut.
The mission, called the Crewed Flight Test (CFT), will demonstrate the capabilities of the Starliner system and last 10 days. Captain Williams, who was the pilot for the mission, named the ship “Calypso” in honor of Jacques Cousteau’s famous ship. This recognition of exploration reflects his deep connection with the world and the sea. In preparation, Captain Williams stays true to his roots, carrying a statue of Lord Ganesh (his lucky charm) on this commercial flight to show his spiritual connection. It can be seen from past space travels that he carries a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and is more spiritual than religious.
