Watch: Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams dances sprightly on arriving at Int’l Space Station

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams danced with euphoria as the Boeing Starliner, carrying her and crewmate Butch Wilmore, docked successfully with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday (June 6), about 26 hours after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Williams, 59, has become the first woman to pilot and test a new crewed spacecraft on its maiden mission.

Williams, who has previously carried an idol of Lord Ganesh, the Bhagavad Gita as well as iconic Indian snacks like samosas to space, is back on the orbiting platform for the third time and called the visit "like going back home."

To celebrate her arrival at the space station, she performed a peppy ephemeral dance and warmly hugged the seven other astronauts aboard the ISS.

"That's the way to get things going," Sunita Williams said while speaking about her "dance party".

Williams and Wilmore, who were the first crew to fly the Starliner, were welcomed by the ringing of a bell, which is an old ISS tradition. Calling her crewmembers "another family", she thanked them for "such a great welcome".

Both the astronauts will spend about a week in space during which they will assist with various tests and conduct scientific experiments.

The Starliner Crewed Flight Test

On the way to the ISS, the crew completed a series of tests including manually flying the Starliner for the first time in space as part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT).

The two NASA astronauts monitored the spacecraft as it autonomously conducted a series of manoeuvre to steadily bring the spacecraft closer to the orbiting laboratory before docking.

However, docking was delayed for about an hour due to technical glitches like minor helium leaks. On their return home on the Starliner, they are scheduled to make a landing on land and not in the sea.

NASA has always wanted an alternative to the SpaceX Crew Module to ferry astronauts, and the Boeing Starliner is shaping into just that as part of the commercial crew program.

(With inputs from agencies)