Back on Earth: Sunita Williams and her space voyage
The return of the crew-9 from space after a 286-day long stay at the International Space Station has created quite a buzz during the last few days. The landing of the Space X Dragon capsule looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie. I have been trying to write about this mission for some time but was waiting for the right source of information. Ever since their return from space, I have wondered how fulfilling it would be to listen to these astronauts. That's when I happened to listen to the first live press conference of the crew-9 after their return from ISS.
The SpaceX crew dragon successfully returned to Earth on 18th March after a 9-month-long voyage in space. It is strange to know that the voyage was initially planned for a period of only 8 days. It got extended because of the technical glitches faced by the Boeing spaceliner spacecraft! They returned using SpaceX's Dragon capsule. The scene of the parachutes coming out of the dragon capsule as it began its descent towards the sea and the splashdown was eye-catching.
This mission marked yet another achievement of Astronaut Sunita Williams. She began her career as a naval aviator in the US navy, where she completed a total of 3000 flight hours in 30 different aircraft. That's before she joined NASA as an astronaut. Following vigorous training, she has been a part of NASA's crucial missions- contributing to several expeditions to the space station as a flight engineer, deputy chief, and pilot. She also lived 9 days underground during NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations. She has spent a total of 608 days in space and has created a record of 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalks- the time when astronauts venture out of their spacecraft. She was a part of the current space mission along with Butch Willmore. They boarded the Boeing space liner spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The International Space Station (ISS)
It is a space research laboratory used by several countries. The ISS is one of the largest man-made space objects. It is the home to astronauts who travel to space. It orbits the earth every 90 minutes and comprises all the essential facilities for surviving in space alongside conduction research. Since its opening in 1998, it has been continuously operated by a crew of scientists, astronauts, and cosmonauts who travel to the ISS and work in shifts. It is an engineering marvel, the parts of which were carried through spacecrafts and actually assembled in space by astronauts! Externally, it has robotic arms for movement and solar arrays on both its sides to generate electricity for the ISS. It has a docking port for boarding the incoming and outgoing spacecraft that carry astronauts. Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore travelled to ISS through the Boeing spaceliner.
Boeing spaceliner
This is a first-of-its-kind spacecraft. The Astronauts described it as an innovation with tremendous potential. It is reusable up to 10 times. They are very much willing to travel using the spaceliner yet again and resolve the technicalities. The reasons for the extended stay were these technicalities. During the 9-month mission, Sunita Williams was said to have contributed tremendously to the ongoing space research. She carried out scientific experiments in microgravity environments, testing experiments for the moon and mars, docking vehicles, for next steps of universe exploration using next generation technologies, navigation controls and so on. Nick Hague spoke about other experiments like the vascular age experiment, responses to the human body in space, immune responses, muscle stimulation, and post-mission monitoring: this is important as it shows the after effects of 9 months of floating in space due to the absence of gravity! While at ISS, they clicked some really cool pictures of the Earth. Sunita Williams described how beautiful and colorful India looked from space. With the Himalayan fold mountains and the ocean surrounding it. At night, the lights from the big cities going into the smaller cities were cleary visible, she said. This description of India was reported in several Indian newspapers and news channels after the press conference. In 1984, when commander Rakesh Sharma travelled to space (the first and the only Indian citizen to go to space), he described India as 'Saare Jahan se accha'. Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore returned to Earth in the Space X's crew dragon.
SpaceX crew Dragon
A private spacecraft to carry astronauts and cargo from the Earth's orbit to space and vice-versa. It comprises 16 small liquid rocket engines that are capable of generating the required force and orienting the capsule's motion. One of the striking features of the Dragon is the parachute system to decelerate its speed during the landing. Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore returned to Earth using the Space X Drgaon. Astronauts Nick Hague and Alexandr Gorbunov boarded it to the ISS and accompanied the two of them back to Earth. The landing of the Dragon was a spectacle to watch. During the press conference, the crew was asked to describe their coming back experience, to which Billmore replied, "Its hard to describe what one feels in the sky at 3500 degrees Fahrenheit while the entire capsule is vigorously shaking and twisting". The high temperature due to the atmospheric friction produced as a result of high entering velocity, about 17000 miles per hour.
Many research areas are involved in such this: tremendous amounts of mathematics, Physics, engineering, chemical propellants and polymer composites synthesis, electronics, navigation, continuous monitoring, statistics, physical and mental training, and so on. Staying in space would indeed be a truly out-of-this-world experience- both in the literal and actual sense! The thought that every minute, there are humans out there performing experiments in space, itself is mind-blowing.
©Neha Kanase
