Houston. Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday. She has become the first member to fly to the International Space Station in Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. She is also the first woman to go on such a mission.

Sunita Williams is a flight test pilot

Boeing's Crew Flight Test mission, carrying Williams and Butch Wilmore, took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. 58-year-old Williams is a flight test pilot, while 61-year-old Wilmore is the mission commander. This mission has been affected several times before. It is expected to reach the space station at 12:15 pm on Thursday.

What did Boeing say?

Boeing intends to make the Starliner compete with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which has been NASA's only spacecraft to ferry International Space Station crew members to the space station since 2020. "This crewed flight test marks the beginning of a new era of space exploration. We look forward to getting astronauts safely to the space station and back home," said Boeing Defense, Space & Security president and CEO Ted Colbert.

Wilmore and Williams have become the first passengers to be sent by the Atlas V rocket. Along with the crew members, the Starliner also carried about 345 kg of cargo. Williams and Wilmore will spend about a week on the space station before returning to Earth.