Eight years before Boeing Starlineer facing glitter, NDTV spoke to Sunita Williams and asked if he thought it could be risky to fly on a privately constructed spacecraft. The Indian-origin astronaut, who had already started collaborating with Boeing, said that when there were some warm discussions, they were confident that the spacecraft would be safe when people fly in it.
Speaking of NDTV during his visit to India in 2016, Ms. Williams also talked about being the first astronaut to be sought on the International Space Station (ISS) and how he intended to carry the idol of Lord Ganesha, which she called “Good-Chala attraction” on her next spaceflight. Sunita Williams Homcoming Live Update Follow here
Answering on a question whether she thought she was taking a big risk on a private sector spacecraft being one of the first astronauts, Ms. Williams, who has been very experienced and also held records for maximum hours of the spacewalk by a woman, cooperation with Boeing and Spacex was really good and companies allowed them to participate in Kraft’s growth.
“We are working by hand with our commercial partners. And I think it’s really a good cooperation, in fact a good partnership, where especially the first four of us who are going more than flying on their spacecraft, they have allowed us to see what their engineers are doing and what they are doing.
Ms. Williams said that companies understand that astronauts were trying to ensure that they would succeed and their expertise would help them.
“At the same time, we are not doing those things the way we have always done them. We are allowing companies to come up with new ideas. And so we are moving this dialogue forward, a small debate, like, how do you think that this process is correct?
“So, of course, we are going to run into the bumps and some of these things are a little hot discussion. But I think we will do it all out and we will find out all this. And I think we will do a very safe spacecraft until we put people on the spacecraft.”
Ms. Williams was assigned to the Starlineer Project in 2018 and played an important role in the development of the spacecraft, which took NASA astronaut Buch Wilmore to the international space station in June last year.
Indian relationship
Sunita Williams’ father, Deepak Pandya, is from Jhulasan village in Mehsana, Gujarat and left for the United States in 1957. The Indian connection was clearly high in his mind when NDTV asked him why he ate Samos in the ISS and said that he had “remembered some special things for home”.
“I think my answer for a lot of things, why not? If you have an opportunity, take it. I love samosas. I asked for some special things that remind me of the house, and were one of those things. And so my family was able to work with NASA somehow – when we are in space for a long time, we get some care.
The astronaut took Geeta into space in an earlier mission and on a question as to what she intended to take with her next, she said it would probably be a Ganesh statue.
“Something for my niece and nephew, which are both Indians. I will probably bring some, some Indian toys as well as another Ganesh, because Ganesh is my good fortune … I am just a spiritual person. I know that he is with me, guidance (me),” he said.
Ms. Williams also said that he met him after joining NASA, as the fellow was a good friend with Indian-original astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
“We did a lot of things together. Did a lot of nature take a trip, a lot has happened to ride the bike, just a lot of things were done. He is just the type of the person you will join automatically. And perhaps our same background, just being an Indian parents, you know, lend yourself for that,” he said.
Calcular risk
When asked whether Ms. Chawla’s death – when the space shuttle columbia disintegrated during regeneration in the Earth’s atmosphere in 2003 – sometimes worrying her, Ms. Williams said, “Yes and no. I mean, we understood, I understood that we would come to this conclusion and understand everyone well.
“And, so, it concerns all of us. I think every time we or any of our friends get on a rocket from the office, it is a big explosion, which is essentially sitting.
