NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has officially taken command of the International Space Station (ISS).
Williams took over the role from Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko.
Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been aboard the ISS since June 5.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has officially taken command of the International Space Station (ISS), marking her second time in this prestigious role. Williams first led the ISS during Expedition 33, back in September 2012.
Williams took over the role from Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko on Sunday at 10:15 am ET. Kononenko, alongside NASA’s Tracy C. Dyson and fellow cosmonaut Nikolai Chub, will return to Earth on Monday, ending their stay on the space station.
The change of command was announced in a post by the official ISS account @Space_Station on X (formerly Twitter).
“Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko hands over station command to NASA astronaut Suni Williams at 10:15am ET on Sunday. Kononenko returns to Earth on Monday with NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub,” the X post reads.
Also read: Boeing Starliner returning uncrewed, NASA turns to SpaceX to bring astronauts home in Feb
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko hands over station command to NASA astronaut Suni Williams at 10:15am ET on Sunday. Kononenko returns to Earth on Monday with NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and cosmonaut Nikolai Chub. Watch here… https://t.co/mGhQ0R7u0t pic.twitter.com/mJM1txJLPs
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 21, 2024
For those who are unaware, Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been aboard the ISS since June 5, 2024, after launching aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed mission. Their mission was originally scheduled to last only eight days, but they’ve been in space for over three months due to unexpected technical problems with the Starliner spacecraft. These issues led NASA and Boeing to decide that Starliner should return to Earth without the crew to ensure safety and gather more data for further testing.
Also read: SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn crew to attempt first-ever spacewalk from Dragon today: Check time and details
In August, NASA announced that Williams and Wilmore would stay on the ISS longer than planned, with a new return date set for no earlier than February 2025. While this delay presents challenges, it also offers Williams another unique opportunity to lead the station.
NASA plans to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which is part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
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Ayushi Jain
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