Indians watched in jubilation as NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, along with colleague Butch Wilmore returned to Earth after nine months’ stay in the International Space Station. Their eight-day sojourn in space had stretched to nine months due to glitch in their Boeing spacecraft. President Droupadi Murmu welcomed Sunita Williams, saying, “India’s daughter and her fellow astronauts have inspired everyone with their perseverance, dedication and never-say-die spirit.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Sunita Williams as “a trailblazer and an icon”, and said, “Theirs has been a test of grit, courage and boundless human spirit. Their unwavering determination in the face of the vast unknown will forever inspire millions.” Modi was joined by celebrities and politicians who welcomed 59-year-old former US Navy captain Sunita, who was born to a Gujarati father Deepak Pandya hailing from Mehsana district and Slovenian mother Ursuline. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov returned on board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft which splashed down in the sea off the coast of Florida. There was celebration in Sunita’s ancestral Jhulasan village of Gujarat with people beating drums, firecrackers bursting and school children dancing, after her spacecraft made a perfect splashdown. The SpaceX capsule parachuted into the sea bringing the odyssey to an end, just hours after leaving the International Space Station. There were tense, nail-biting moments when the capsule, travelling at speed going up to 28,800 km per hour, caused friction as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and the capsule’s outer casing had to face heat to about 1,600 degrees Celsius, with heat shields protecting the capsule in which the occupants sat. The spacecraft turned into a ball of fire after entering the atmosphere and with parachutes open, splashed into the sea. A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote an emotional letter to the “illustrious daughter of India” inviting her to visit India after her return. The NASA astronauts will now undergo standard protocol to mitigate physical challenges posed by prolonged weightlessness in space. The astronauts have been sent to Johnson Space Center, Houston, where they will undergo recovery and return to normal life after some days.OPINION | Suni Williams Returns: India Celebrates!
Indians watched in jubilation as NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, along with colleague Butch Wilmore returned to Earth after nine months’ stay in the International Space Station. Their eight-day sojourn in space had stretched to nine months due to glitch in their Boeing spacecraft. President Droupadi Murmu welcomed Sunita Williams, saying, “India’s daughter and her fellow astronauts have inspired everyone with their perseverance, dedication and never-say-die spirit.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Sunita Williams as “a trailblazer and an icon”, and said, “Theirs has been a test of grit, courage and boundless human spirit. Their unwavering determination in the face of the vast unknown will forever inspire millions.” Modi was joined by celebrities and politicians who welcomed 59-year-old former US Navy captain Sunita, who was born to a Gujarati father Deepak Pandya hailing from Mehsana district and Slovenian mother Ursuline. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov returned on board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft which splashed down in the sea off the coast of Florida. There was celebration in Sunita’s ancestral Jhulasan village of Gujarat with people beating drums, firecrackers bursting and school children dancing, after her spacecraft made a perfect splashdown. The SpaceX capsule parachuted into the sea bringing the odyssey to an end, just hours after leaving the International Space Station. There were tense, nail-biting moments when the capsule, travelling at speed going up to 28,800 km per hour, caused friction as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and the capsule’s outer casing had to face heat to about 1,600 degrees Celsius, with heat shields protecting the capsule in which the occupants sat. The spacecraft turned into a ball of fire after entering the atmosphere and with parachutes open, splashed into the sea. A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote an emotional letter to the “illustrious daughter of India” inviting her to visit India after her return. The NASA astronauts will now undergo standard protocol to mitigate physical challenges posed by prolonged weightlessness in space. The astronauts have been sent to Johnson Space Center, Houston, where they will undergo recovery and return to normal life after some days.
