On the way to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore tested out a unique capability of the spacecraft on orbit—manual piloting.

Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with Wilmore, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a 25-hour flight to the International Space Station (ISS). Williams, 58, is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is commander of the mission. The spacecraft is usually autonomous, but the crew used hand controller to point and aim it during about two hours of free-flight demonstrations.