Watch | Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams dances on arrival at space station on her 3rd trip

Williams, 58, embarked on her third space mission on Wednesday with Wilmore, 61, making history as the first crew members aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. She serves as the pilot for the flight test, while Wilmore is the mission commander. Williams, who received her commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987, was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1998.

NASA shared a video of the moment on social media, showing Williams entering the ISS docking area to loud applause from her Expedition 71 colleagues, as one of them rang a metal bell, a sound that echoed above the celebratory cheers. Wearing blue overalls with her long hair floating around her smiling face in the zero-gravity environment, the Indian-origin astronaut broke into a twist-like dance step upon emerging from the docking tunnel.

The Expedition 71 crew welcomed Williams and Wilmore aboard the ISS after the Starliner docked at approximately 11:04 pm (IST) on Friday, about 26 hours after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, according to a statement from NASA.

Following the US Naval tradition, the crew rang the ship’s bell to announce the presence of important persons as Williams entered. “As part of @USNavy tradition for captains boarding a ship @NASA_Astronauts Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni each received bell rings as they came aboard @Space_Station,” NASA posted on X.

Despite having two previous space missions under her belt (Expeditions 14/15 in 2006 and 32/33 in 2012), Williams’s three-second celebratory dance drew widespread cheers from the crew. She then hugged the crew members as Wilmore entered to loud cheers and bell rings.

The seven crew members — Oleg Kononenko (Russia), Alexander Grebenkin (Russia), Tracy C Dyson (USA), Mike Barratt (USA), Nikolai Chub (Russia), Jeanette Epps (USA), and Matthew Dominick (USA) — gathered with the two Crew Flight Test members for a team portrait aboard the space station.

Williams expressed her gratitude to family and friends for their support leading up to the launch. “We have another family up here, which is just awesome,” Williams said, and added, “And we’re just happy as can be to be up in space, one in Starliner on an Atlas V, and then here at the International Space Station. It just doesn’t get much better.”

US Vice President Kamala Harris praised Williams and Wilmore, saying they represent “America’s leadership into the cosmos.” As the Starliner took off, she posted on X: “Starliner is on its way — congratulations to the team. Today’s launch marks an important milestone for the future of human spaceflight. Butch and Suni, you represent America’s leadership into the cosmos and make us proud. Safe travels on your mission.”

After spending about a week in orbit, Wilmore and Williams will board the Starliner and return home.

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