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Sunita Williams returned safely after nine months in space. Her sister thanked God for her safe return
Sunita Williams returns to Earth (Photo: X/NASA)
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams’ sister Falguni Pandya has thanked God for making her wish come true as Williams returned to Earth safely after spending nine months in space.
Falguni Pandya, who was visiting a temple to play obeisance and thank God for returning her sister said, “I am very grateful to God and very happy for Sunita’s homecoming. It was a long wait. There was no nervousness. It was pure joy. I prayed and made a vow that after everything goes well I will be at the temple and here I am.”
Williams set her foot back on Earth moments after she, aboard SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft, splashed down off the Florida coast early Wednesday. The Dragon touched down the water at 3.27 am IST, bringing cheers to the officials monitoring the rescue operation which was necessitated by the unexpected nine-month stay of Williams and her NASA colleague Butch Wilmore due to technical issues in the Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule.
As the capsule arrived on Earth, it was lifted to a recovery vessel, and its side hatch was opened for the first time since September last year. All four astronauts were helped their way out.
Crew9 commander Nick Hague was the first to come out of the Dragon with the assistance of the ground crew, followed by Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Sunita Williams then emerged out of the Dragon, waving her hands and smiling, being helped out by the officials, feeling Earth’s gravity – in contrast to the microgravity of space.
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