Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams takes command of International Space Station

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has taken command of the International Space Station (ISS), marking her second time leading the orbiting laboratory.

NASA announced that Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko handed over the command of the space station to Sunita Williams at a ceremony onboard the space station.

The duo travelled to the ISS abroad Boeing’s Starliner space shuttle in its first crewed mission on June 5 for an originally planned stay of 8 days. However, after the shuttle experienced some technical malfunction, their return was cancelled and the vessel returned without them. The duo is now expected to return in February 2025.