NASA veteran Sunita Williams tells us how to prepare to fly a new spacecraft

NASA astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams is about to embark on a new adventure in space: commanding the first operational flight of Boeing's new space capsule, the CST-100 Starliner. And when she flies, it will be the second time that the Starliner has already hosted a team.

Boeing developed the Starliner as part of NASA's commercial crew program, an initiative to send NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station on private US spacecraft. A second company, SpaceX, is also developing a vehicle for the program – a passenger version of the company's Dragon cargo capsule. After four years of development, the capsules are nearing completion and companies are preparing to fly their vehicles for the first time. First, SpaceX and Boeing will fly their unmanned spaceship, and if these flights go well, they will take people. These crew flights will help NASA determine if the capsules are safe and, if the space agency approves, the companies will then begin regular missions to and from the ISS.

On August 3, NASA selected the astronauts who will participate in this inaugural flight. Williams will be part of the Starliner's first operational mission, along with astronaut Josh Cassada. This means that she and Cassada will fly once the first flight test of the vehicle is complete. She and Cassada will not be alone, though. They have two other astronauts on board, assigned by NASA's international partners.

This will be Williams' third trip into space. Having flown both on a space shuttle mission and on a Russian Soyuz rocket, Williams spent 322 days in low Earth orbit and has seven sorties in space – once the record of any female astronaut. Williams knew it was one of the first flights of the commercial team since 2015, when NASA announced that the four astronauts, including her, would participate in the program. It is only this year that she has learned on what flight she would be.

The edge She spoke with Williams about her experience in the commercial crew program so far and how things will change now that she has been assigned to a team.

This interview has been slightly modified for clarity.

How did you participate in the commercial crew program? Have you expressed interest in being chosen to fly on these vehicles?

In 2015, I returned from the management of all people who go to Russia to train on Soyuz. Because I had flown on Soyuz, I have some knowledge about it. I had also flown on the shuttle and had done just about everything I thought I could do when I arrived at the astronaut's office. And I was kind of ready to give it to the kids.

Then, this opportunity appeared. And of course, we do not put our name in the hat. We are right there, available, and we have all the qualifications. And it turns out that four of us who have been selected have two flights in space. So we have experience and I think that's what people are looking for: to bring business experience. So we worked with them for the two years following our assignment to specific flights.

Image: NASA

And at that time, we really did not know which company [we were going to fly with]. That's how it happens in our office. You are called when you need to go do what they need to do.

Can you talk about what training has been up to now and how things have changed since you were assigned?

There is certainly a difference from the selection of four of us – Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, Eric Boe and myself – for the group in the summer of 2015. When we were selected to this, our only goal was to move from one company to the other. see what they do and try to help in any way possible. It was not very programmed. It was a little more risky as companies were getting ready, because essentially the Power Points were starting to become hardware.

Now, at this point, the material is pretty much finished. So we've already had a lot of influence on the spaceship and we're working now to see how the tests are going. And in the meantime, we follow all the training with the trainers. They will have to form follow-up teams, so we evaluate [process] from the experience we gained from the training for both the shuttle and the Soyuz and the space station. So now it is not a coincidence. It's a little more defined than in the past. Although it's very fluid, with each test, you learn something new and you have to do something else, right? But at least there is a sort of program for testing, and between the two is the actual training for the spacecraft and the training for the space station.

And what are the most important aspects of training? As you are doing a full mission, do you have any idea of ​​what the mission profile will be?

[We] start doing more things from the space station. I get my robotic evaluations next week, actually. We start training in space, for general things. [Our flight date] is obviously quite a question right now, and when we are going to determine what we can potentially do. There is a set of batteries, for example, that needs to be changed in 2020. There are a number of spacewalks out there, so there is a good chance that Josh and I will be in touch with our international partners . do some outings in the space.

Image: NASA

So, right now, we're doing all the generic training, just to make sure you keep your heels in the pool and also in robotics. It's funny, because it's becoming real and it's probably going to be in the year and a half by the time all assigned crews fly. It's really awesome.

How was this training process compared to the Soyuz training process?

Of course, it's in the United States. So, even if it's in California, Florida or Texas, it's fine. You are not many time zones away from your family and you are at home on weekends, in general.

But training flows are just defining themselves. We work with all the trainers here in Houston for Boeing. The coaches are all a little nervous, because they do not have all their T crossed and I'm dotted, because the vehicle has just been developed. As the vehicle is finalized, they rush, scrambling for training to make sure they understand it so they can teach it to us.

Image: NASA

Soyuz is finished. He was there; it's the same thing. Of course, they have upgrades, but the spacecraft basics have always stayed the same. When you are flying Soyuz, you know that when you go to Russia, you will do X, Y and Z. You already have this plan in place. For us, we help define it with the trainers of both companies, so it's very entertaining. You evaluate what is important and what is not. You can learn about each nut in the spacecraft, but you will not use it when you get there. So we help them prioritize "what does it mean for the person sitting in the spaceship?"

As you are on the Boeing flight, the company has installed most of its training facilities in Houston, as opposed to SpaceX, which is located in California. Does it help to have a training so close to home?

Of course, that's good. It's here. There is a disadvantage compared to Soyuz and SpaceX: when you go to Russia or California, you focus on what you do. Your family is not here. Your lawn does not need to be cut. You are simply focusing on what you need to do. But when you are at home, you are of course distracted. A whole lot of life is happening.

But it's also great. For example, we help people with the software at night and it's not a big deal. Okay, I'll go home and have dinner with my family, then I'll go back to the simulator at night and help them follow their software process. It's pretty cool. You do not feel like you're leaving your family because you can be at home for dinner, be at home for a football game, then go to work. So that's nice.

Have you been involved in the process of selecting your flight?

We have all been invited. I mean, of course. We are America we are asking people what their contributions are.[[[[Laughs] To be honest with you, I was a little surprised and I think there were a few other people who were a little surprised. But we are all sticking because it is a great opportunity to fly on one or the other of these flights.

So, it's all right. We are all happy and I think it has worked really well. I'm so excited that I'm flying with Josh. See him for the first time go into space, then become a full crew member – it's really cool. We are all a little surprised, but our bosses knew what they were doing. And I'm happy with the whole situation.

How do you think the Boeing and SpaceX capsules compare?

They both have the same goal, so they're pretty similar. They both go from Earth to the station, so they are similar in size. Both are automated, which is great. That's what we wanted. Both costumes are comfortable. Other costumes in the past have been a little bulky or have made you rock a little bit. These combinations do not do it. They took into account the comments of the users.

Image: NASA

People saw the cockpits of the spaceship. At the present time, there are manual controllers on the Boeing spacecraft, which always makes a pilot happy. There are no manual controllers on the SpaceX vehicle, so "people are interesting. How are you going to handle this problem if you had to fly manually? ". There are only a few different ways to solve problems.

SpaceX has been further away from the government than Boeing, of course. So, they are not cluttered and maybe try some new and innovative ideas, which is great. It's great for the space business. I know we want this business to be successful, so we can all benefit from these technological advances. But they are also a bit risky. We will also have to see how it all goes.

What do you expect the most for this upcoming launch?

Honestly, it comes back to the United States. I have a relatively new niece and nephew who has never seen one. And there are many kids who have never been able to get in their minivan with their parents and drive to Florida. Seeing a launch from Florida is huge. The first time I saw one, I could not stop myself from crying. I thought, "Wow it's spectacular." That's what engineering is.

That's what I think is the coolest thing: bringing the launches back to the US and thinking about the next possibility for the next generation to come back to the moon and Mars. This is only the beginning. It's opening the window.

The Starliner is a new vehicle, but you will be the second to ride it. What do you hope to learn from this first flight test? What questions will you ask the first crew to prepare your trip?

The question I will ask myself is: "What was it like?" There will be explosions to be made [pieces of hardware] fall off or the blanket comes off. These are things we have no knowledge of before. I think there will be a recorder in both vehicles during the first flights, just to hear and understand. We received the audio from EST-1, which is Orion's experimental flight test, and it's spectacular. You can hear the jets "boom, boom, boom, boom" when they fire. And you say to yourself, "Whoa, I would not expect it."

Is there anything that makes it uncomfortable for you or your family to get on a brand new spaceship?

I am totally confident, and the reason is that these two spacecraft have systems that go: "Uh oh. Something is wrong. Now, what am I doing? Save. "The software looks for anomalies and reconfigures the system. Both have that. And because of the technological changes, they will have a lot of redundancies. I know that there will be software problems in the future and I am convinced that vehicles have redundancies in their own fault-finding systems and that they are also redundant where the driver can interact.

You mentioned earlier that you thought there would be no more vehicles for you and that Commercial Crew had come up. Now, there is a great effort to return to the moon. Would you be open to the possibility of flying on SLS and Orion, or on another new vehicle, to return to the lunar surface?

I would love to do that. But there are other people in our office who would like to do it too. And I had an amazing career. I would love to stay and give my experience. If the opportunity arose and they said, "Suni, we need you." Of course, I would do it.

But I think that's why I fly with Josh, for example. It's our job to make sure these people are ready to do bigger and bolder things, like Orion. But if they want us, oh yeah, yes, I'll be here.