Indian-origin Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore entered the International Space Station on Friday morning, the US space agency said on Friday. NASA’s Boeing Starliner carrying the two astronauts docked with the ISS after taking off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5.

Footage from NASA showed the two NASA astronauts entering the USS’ hatch door at 3:46 pm ET on Thursday (that’s Friday morning IST). The seven astronauts from the Expedition 71 crew on the ISS welcomed Sunita and Butch, who were the first astronauts to fly on Boeing’s new capsule.

The 59-year-old Indian-origin astronaut burst into joy after entering the ISS’s hatch and hugged the astronauts on board the space station.

The spacecraft launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:52 a.m. (local time) on June 5. The journey was not without challenges, as new problems cropped up along the way, but NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams overcame the obstacles and arrived safely at the station.

Docking took place with additional steps taken to secure the connection between the Starliner and the station’s port. Mr. Wilmore expressed his delight, saying, “It’s nice to connect to the big city in the sky.”

Pressure was equalized between the Starliner and the ISS, and the door between the two opened at approximately 3:46 p.m. Eastern Time, and the crew was warmly greeted by their ISS counterparts.

“We had music. Matt was dancing. It was wonderful. What an amazing place it is, it feels good to be back,” Mr Wilmore said, expressing his gratitude to those involved in the mission. Williams echoed his sentiments, expressing his gratitude to family and friends and his happiness at being part of the ISS family.

“We have another family here, which is great,” Ms Williams said. “And we’re so happy to be in space, on an Atlas V in Starliner, and then here on the International Space Station. It doesn’t get any better than that.”