EXPLORATION IS CURIOSITY.
IT'S ASKING THE QUESTION WHY,
IT'S TAKING THAT NEXT STEP.
EVERY TIME WE DO
SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME,
WE'RE EXPANDING OUR KNOWLEDGE.
MY NAME IS SUNI WILLIAMS,
AND I'M THE PILOT FOR NASA'S
BOEING CREW
FLIGHT TEST MISSION
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
I FEEL REALLY LUCKY TO HAVE GROWN UP
IN A SMALL TOWN
OUTSIDE OF BOSTON,
NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.
IT WAS A GREAT TOWN
BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE
TO RIDE OUR BIKES EVERYWHERE WE WENT.
MY BROTHER, SISTER AND I,
WE WERE ALL SWIMMERS
AND IT WAS JUST A GREAT CHILDHOOD.
MY DAD WAS A DOCTOR
AND ALSO DID NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH.
WE WERE THE STRANGE FAMILY
WHO HAD PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS
OF BRAINS ON OUR DINING ROOM TABLE.
MY OLDER BROTHER
WENT TO THE NAVAL ACADEMY.
I STARTED RESEARCHING A LITTLE BIT
AND I THOUGHT, WELL, WHAT
THE HECK, I'LL TRY THIS OUT.
AND WHEN I WENT,
I FOUND THAT I REALLY LOVED IT. TEAMWORK.
FOLLOWERSHIP. LEADERSHIP.
THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAD RIGHT
FROM THE VERY BEGINNING,
AND TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING
A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN YOURSELF.
AND I THINK THAT PAVED THE WAY
FOR THE REST OF MY CAREER.
GOT A BASIC ENGINEERING
DEGREE FROM THE NAVAL ACADEMY.
I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT
WHEN I WENT THROUGH
THAT COURSE CURRICULUM.
BUT WHEN I WENT TO TEST PILOT SCHOOL,
ALL OF THAT STUFF
SORT OF GELLED TOGETHER.
I WAS LIKE, OH, WOW,
THIS IS WHY WE DO MATH MODELING.
THIS IS HOW WE TRY TO PREDICT
HOW CHANGE IN AN ENGINE
IS GOING TO AFFECT THE WAY
THE HELICOPTER FLIES.
TIME ON THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION IS PRICELESS.
PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK, YOU KNOW,
DO YOU GET BORED OR,
YOU KNOW, IT'S A TERRIBLE BEING UP THERE
FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND FOR ME, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE.
THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO.
YOU WAKE UP,
YOU LOOK AT YOUR TIMELINE LIKE, WOW,
I GOT TO DO THIS EXPERIMENT TODAY,
I GOT TO GET READY FOR A SPACEWALK.
EVERY DAY WAS DIFFERENT,
AND JUST LIFE ON THE SPACE
STATION BECOMES ROUTINE,
WHICH IS SORT OF CRAZY TO THINK ABOUT IT.
AT ONE POINT IN TIME,
ON MY FIRST MISSION, I WAS LIKE,
I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER REALLY
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WALK.
I'VE BEEN FLYING AROUND FOR SO LONG,
I DON'T EVEN KNOW
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SIT DOWN.
I GOT ASSIGNED TO THE COMMERCIAL CREW
CADRE IN 2015.
WE WENT TO THE COMPANIES,
FOUND OUT THE SHELL OF THEIR PROGRAMS,
AND THEN ACTUALLY
STARTED WORKING WITH THEM
TO MAKE THEM
WHAT THEY ARE TODAY
TO ACCOMMODATE ASTRONAUTS.
FOR STARLINER,
WE'VE BEEN HEAVILY
INVOLVED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS
IN THE SOFTWARE, WITH THE FOLKS
DOING THE DEVELOPMENT TO MAKE SURE
ITS CAPABILITY
WILL ALLOW US TO COME HOME,
AND WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED
WITH ALL THE SUIT DEVELOPMENT,
MAKING SURE
EVERY DIFFERENT SIZE OF PERSON
COULD FIT IN ALL THESE SUITS,
AND THEY CAN OPERATE
THE SPACECRAFT ADEQUATELY.
WE'VE HAD OUR FINGERS
ON EVERY SINGLE PROCEDURE
THAT WE WORK INSIDE THE COCKPIT,
AS WELL AS OPERATED IT
WITH OUR MISSION CONTROL TEAM
TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING
THAT FUTURE CREWS WILL DO WILL BE RIGHT.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THE CLASSIC TRAINING
AS WE HAD FOR SHUTTLE AND SOYUZ.
WE'VE SORT OF HELPED DEVELOP
THE TRAINING AS WELL AS THE HARDWARE,
AND THIS IS SORT OF THE SHAPE OF THINGS
TO COME AS WE GET
READY TO GO BACK TO THE MOON.
ALL OF THAT IS GOING TO BE DEVELOPMENTAL,
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE
THE SAME MINDSET.
IT'S NOT ALREADY ESTABLISHED.
WE ALL HAVE TO BE PART OF THIS BIG TEAM
TO HELP DEVELOP IT
AND MAKE SURE THAT INTEGRATION,
YOU KNOW,
AS THE ASTRONAUTS USE ALL THIS EQUIPMENT,
IT'S GOING TO BE TOP NOTCH
AND READY TO TAKE US EVEN FURTHER.