Astronaut Sunita Williams Stuck in Space?

HI INDIA NEWS DESK

The International space station currently has two guests that may have overstayed their original plan. And one amongst them is Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams. Williams currently awaits a return trip aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft. This week the spacecrafts’ return date was again pushed from June 22 to June 26.

The spacecraft has remained docked at the space station as NASA and Boeing are trying to get details of several helium leaks that have led to its delayed launch. Born to a Slovenian mother and Indian father, Williams is the second woman of Indian descent to go to space. Williams flew to space earlier this month.

Concerns about Williams’ return grew also because of a previous experience with fellow Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla. In 2003, Chawla died in the Columbia disaster when her space-shuttle disintegrated as it re-entered the earth’s atmosphere. Chawla and Williams had been close friends.