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Sunita Williams

Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams (née Pandya; born September 19, 1965) is an American astronaut, retired U.S. Navy officer, and former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes).[1][2][3][4][5][6] Williams was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she served as a flight engineer on Expedition 32 and then commander of Expedition 33. In 2024, she returned to the ISS on the Boeing Crew Flight Test, the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner; her return to Earth has been delayed until February 2025. As such, from August 2024 until February 2025, Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore are pivoting ahead to undertake various scientific experiments and maintenance tasks aboard the International Space Station.[7]

Sunita Williams
Williams in 2004
Born
Sunita Lyn Pandya

(1965-09-19) September 19, 1965 (age 59)
Euclid, Ohio, U.S.
Other namesSončka
EducationUnited States Naval Academy (BS)
Florida Institute of Technology (MS)
SpouseMichael J. Williams
FatherDeepak Pandya
Space career
NASA astronaut
RankCaptain, USN
Time in space
491 days, 6 hours, 22 minutes [refresh]
(currently in space)
SelectionNASA Group 17 (1998)
Total EVAs
7
Total EVA time
50 hours, 40 minutes
MissionsSTS-116/117 (Expedition 14/15)
Soyuz TMA-05M (Expedition 32/33)
Boeing Crew Flight Test/SpaceX Crew-9 (Expedition 71/72)
Mission insignia
STS-116 ISS Expedition 14 ISS Expedition 15 STS-117 Expedition 32 Expedition 33

Early life and education

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Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts, to be her hometown.[8] Her father, Deepak Pandya, was an Indian-American neuroanatomist from Mehsana district, Gujarat, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya (née Zalokar) was a Slovene-American. Her parents resided in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She is the youngest of three children. Her brother, Jay Thomas, is four years older and her sister, Dina Annad, is three years older. Williams's paternal family is from Jhulasan in the Mehsana district[9] whereas her maternal family is of Slovene descent.[10] Williams has taken the Slovenian flag,[11] a samosa and Carniolan sausage to space in celebration of her Indian and Slovenian heritage.[12] Her nicknames are Suni in the United States[8] and Sončka in Slovenia.[13]

Williams graduated from Needham High School in 1983. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Science degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.[4]

Military career

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Williams was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy in May 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she was designated a Basic Diving Officer. She next reported to the Naval Air Training Command, where she was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She received initial H-46 Sea Knight training in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 (HC-3), and was then assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 (HC-8) in Norfolk, Virginia, with which she made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort. In September 1992, she was the officer-in-charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida, for Hurricane Andrew relief operations aboard USS Sylvania. In January 1993, Williams began training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. She graduated in December, and was assigned to the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate as an H-46 Project Officer and V-22 chase pilot in the T-2. Later, she was assigned as the squadron Safety Officer and flew test flights in the SH-60B/F, UH-1, AH-1W, SH-2, VH-3, H-46, CH-53, and H-57.[4]

In December 1995, she went back to the Naval Test Pilot School as an instructor in the Rotary Wing Department and as the school's Safety Officer. There she flew the UH-60, OH-6, and the OH-58. She was then assigned to USS Saipan as the Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss. Williams was deployed on Saipan in June 1998 when she was selected by NASA for the astronaut program.[4] She has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types.[14] Williams retired from the Navy in 2017. [15]

Career in NASA

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Williams began her astronaut candidate training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998.[4]

STS-116

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Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, STS-116 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA)

Williams was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with STS-116, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, on December 9, 2006, to join the Expedition 14 crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated, changing to Expedition 15.

Expeditions 14 and 15

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Williams became the first person to run a marathon from the space station on April 16, 2007

After launch, Williams arranged to donate her ponytail to Locks of Love. Fellow astronaut Joan Higginbotham cut her hair aboard the International Space Station and it was brought back to Earth by the STS-116 crew.[16] Williams performed her first extra-vehicular activity on the eighth day of the STS-116 mission. On January 31, February 4, and February 9, 2007, she completed three spacewalks from the ISS with Michael López-Alegría. During one of these walks, a camera became untethered, probably because the attaching device failed, and floated off to space before Williams could react.[17]

 
Joan Higginbotham and Williams work the controls of the Canadarm2 in the ISS's Destiny Laboratory

On the third spacewalk, Williams was outside the station for 6 hours and 40 minutes to complete three spacewalks in nine days. By 2007, she had logged 29 hours and 17 minutes in four spacewalks, eclipsing the record previously held by Kathryn C. Thornton for most spacewalk time by a woman.[4][6] On December 18, 2007, during the fourth spacewalk of Expedition 16, Peggy Whitson surpassed Williams, with a cumulative EVA time of 32 hours, 36 minutes.[18][19] In early March 2007, she received a tube of wasabi in a Progress spacecraft resupply mission in response to her request for more spicy food. When she opened the tube, which was packed at one atmospheric pressure, the paste was forced out in the lower pressure of the ISS. In the free-fall environment, the spicy geyser was difficult to contain.[20]

On April 26, 2007, NASA decided to bring Williams back to Earth on the STS-117 mission aboard Atlantis. Although she did not break the U.S. single spaceflight record—recently set by López-Alegría—she did break the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman.[4][21][22] Williams served as a mission specialist and returned to Earth on June 22, 2007, at the end of the STS-117 mission. Poor weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral forced mission managers to skip three landing attempts there over 24 hours. They ultimately diverted Atlantis to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the shuttle touched down at 3:49 p.m. EDT, returning Williams home after a 192-day stay in space.

Marathon in space

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On April 16, 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space.[23] Williams was listed as an entrant for the 2007 Boston Marathon, and completed the distance in 4 hours and 24 minutes.[24][25][26] The other crew members cheered her on and gave her oranges during the race. Williams's sister, Dina Pandya and fellow astronaut Karen L. Nyberg ran the marathon on Earth, and Williams received updates on their progress from Mission Control. In 2008, Williams participated in the Boston Marathon again.[27]

Expeditions 32 and 33

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Williams exercises on COLBERT during ISS Expedition 32
 
Williams appears to touch the bright Sun during a spacewalk conducted on September 5, 2012.

Williams was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 2012, as part of Expedition 32/33. Her Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M docked with the ISS for a four-month stay at the orbiting outpost on July 17, 2012.[28] The docking of the Soyuz spacecraft occurred at 4:51 GMT as the ISS flew over Kazakhstan at an altitude of 252 miles. The hatchway between the Soyuz spacecraft and the ISS was opened at 7:23 GMT and Williams floated into the ISS to begin her duties as a member of the Expedition 32 crew. On the Soyuz spacecraft, she was accompanied by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. Williams served as the commander of the ISS during her stay onboard ISS Expedition 33, succeeding Gennady Padalka.[29] She became the commander of the International Space Station on September 17, 2012, being only the second woman to achieve the feat.[30] Also in September 2012, she became the first person to do a triathlon in space, which coincided with the Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in Southern California.[31] She used the International Space Station's own treadmill and stationary bike, and for the swimming portion of the race, she used the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to do weightlifting and resistance exercises that approximate swimming in microgravity. After swimming half a mile (0.8 km), biking 18 miles (29 km), and running 4 miles (6.4 km), Williams finished with a self-reported time of one hour, 48 minutes and 33 seconds.[31]

She returned to Earth with fellow astronauts Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide on November 19, 2012. A procedural delay led the capsule to land in the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, some 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the planned touchdown site.[32]

Commercial Crew program

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In July 2015, NASA announced Williams as one of the first astronauts for U.S. commercial spaceflights.[33] Subsequently, she began working with Boeing and SpaceX to train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with other chosen astronauts. In August 2018 she was assigned to the first operational mission flight (Starliner-1) to the International Space Station of Boeing CST-100 Starliner.[34] On April 18, 2022, NASA said that it had not yet finalized which of the cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Williams, would fly on the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission or the first operational Starliner mission.[35] On June 16, 2022, NASA confirmed that CFT would be a two-person mission, consisting of Wilmore and Williams.[36] On June 5, 2024, Williams became the first woman to fly on a flight test of an orbital spacecraft when the Starliner launched to orbit with Williams as the spacecraft's pilot.[37]

As of 17 August 2024, she remains "stuck" on the ISS space station with fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner's service module. The original trip was planned for a duration of eight days. Before this mission, Sunita was not in the top 50 of the time-in-space statistics. On August 24, 2024, she became among the top 30 and is expected to be among the top 12 in time-in-space duration when she returns in February 2025.[38]

In September 2024, Williams took command of the ISS for the second time in her career, which she will hold until her return in February 2025.

Spacewalks

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As of August 2012, Sunita Williams had made seven spacewalks totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes,[39] at the time putting Williams fifth on the list of most experienced spacewalkers.[40] On August 30, 2012, Williams and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide ventured outside the ISS to conduct US EVA-18. They removed and replaced the failing Main Bus Switching Unit-1 (MBSU-1) and installed a thermal cover onto Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2).[41]

Personal life

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Williams with Slovenian Defense Minister Ljubica Jelušič (2009)
 
Williams at Science City Kolkata in April 2013

Williams has been married to Michael J. Williams, a federal marshal in Texas for more than 20 years,[when?] and both flew helicopters early in their careers. They reside in suburban Houston, Texas. She had a pet Jack Russell terrier named Gorby who was featured with her on the Dog Whisperer television show on the National Geographic Channel on November 12, 2010.[42] In 2012, Williams expressed a desire to adopt a girl from Ahmedabad.[43]

Williams practices Hinduism. In December 2006, she took a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to the International Space Station. In July 2012, she took there a symbol Om and a copy of the Upanishads.[44] In September 2007, Williams visited the Sabarmati Ashram and her ancestral village of Jhulasan. She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society,[45] the first person of Indian descent who was not an Indian citizen to be presented the award. On October 4, 2007, Williams spoke at the American Embassy School, and then met Manmohan Singh, the then-Prime Minister of India.[46]

Williams has also visited Slovenia several times.[12] In 2009, the club Slovenian Astronaut (Slovenski astronavt) arranged a memorial room for her in Leše, Tržič, northwestern Slovenia.[47] Leše was the birthplace of her great-grandmother Marija Bohinjec, born in 1891, who immigrated to the United States as an 11-year-old in 1900 or 1901.[48] In May 2013, the former President of Slovenia Borut Pahor awarded Williams a medal of merit for her contribution to the popularisation of science and technology among the Slovenian youth.[49] During her stay in October 2014 she paid a visit to the Astronomical Society Vega in Ljubljana.[50][51] She visited Slovenia again in 2016.[52]

In June 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name the town's new elementary school after Williams.[53] In May 2020, Williams addressed more than 500,000 Indian and other international students in the United States in a virtual interview organized by the Student Hub at the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.[54]

Organizations

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Williams was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Flight Test Engineers, American Helicopter Association.[55]

Honors and awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Astronaut Biography: Sunita Williams". SpaceFacts.de. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  2. ^ "Astronaut Biography" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Houston, Texas. August 2018.
  3. ^ Garcia, Mark. "Peggy Whitson Breaks Spacewalking Record". NASA blog. NASA. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g NASA (2007). "Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN)" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  5. ^ "Spacewalking astronauts conquer stiff bolt, install key power unit on 2nd trip outside". Associated Press. 2012. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Tariq Malik (2007). "Orbital Champ: ISS Astronaut Sets New U.S. Spacewalk Record". Space.com. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  7. ^ "What will Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore do till February 2025 in space?". Times Now. August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Sunita L. Williams - NASA". Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Sunita Williams to start her India trip from April 1, The Times of India, March 31, 2013.
  10. ^ Fonda, Robert (March 2008). "Rodoslovne raziskave s pomočjo svetovnega spleta" [Genealogical Research Using World Wide Web]. Drevesa (in Slovenian). 15 (1). Slovensko rodoslovno društvo [Slovenian Genealogical Society]: 11–17. hdl:11686/9035. COBISS 246861824.
  11. ^ Hanc, Marjana (June 6, 2014). "Slovenska zastava je v vesolju 2032-krat obkrožila Zemljo" [Slovenian Flag Orbits Earth 2032 Times in Space]. Delo (in Slovenian).
  12. ^ a b Bartolj, Jaka (August 20, 2015). "One of the most notable female astronauts of all time is partly of Slovenian descent". Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sunita Williams: Najljubša mi je Zemlja, ker je na njej Slovenija" [Sunita Williams: My Favourite Place Is Earth Because Slovenia Is on It]. Žurnal24.si (in Slovenian). April 18, 2021.
  14. ^ "SpaceShipOne Flight Logs". World Spaceflight. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  15. ^ "America250: Navy Veteran Sunita Williams". VA News. May 5, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  16. ^ CollectSpace.com (December 20, 2006). "Astronaut cuts her hair in space for charity". CollectSpace.com. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
  17. ^ "Astronaut's Camera is Lost In Space". Adoama.com. December 22, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
  18. ^ CollectSpace (2007). "Astronauts make 100th station spacewalk". CollectSpace. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  19. ^ NASA (2007). "Spacewalkers Find No Solar Wing Smoking Gun". NASA. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  20. ^ Schneider, Mike (March 2, 2007). "Space station suffers". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2007.
  21. ^ "Ham-astronauts setting records in space". ARRLWeb. The American Radio Relay League. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
  22. ^ Mike Schneider for Associated Press (2007). "Astronaut stuck in space — for now". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  23. ^ Eldora Valentine (April 6, 2007). "Race From Space Coincides with Race on Earth". NASA. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
  24. ^ "Sunita Williams Runs Marathon in Space". Zee News Limited. April 17, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
  25. ^ Jimmy Golen for Associated Press (2007). "Astronaut to run Boston Marathon — in space". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  26. ^ NASA (2007). "NASA Astronaut to Run Boston Marathon in Space". NASA. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  27. ^ "Cheruiyot wins Boston Marathon". aljazeera.com. April 22, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  28. ^ "Sunita Williams' spacecraft docks with ISS". The Times of India. July 17, 2012.
  29. ^ "Sunita Williams takes over command at International Space Station". The Times of India. September 17, 2012. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  30. ^ "Indian-American astronaut Sunita williams takes over command at space station". The Indian Express. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  31. ^ a b Moskowitz, Clara (September 17, 2012). "NASA Astronaut Completes 1st Triathlon in Space". Space.com.
  32. ^ "Sunita Williams returns to Earth after 4 months in space". India Today. November 19, 2012.
  33. ^ NASA (July 9, 2015). "NASA Selects Astronauts for First U.S. Commercial Spaceflights". nasa.gov.
  34. ^ "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". NASA. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  35. ^ Clark, Stephen. "Starliner astronauts eager to see results of crew capsule test flight – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  36. ^ Potter, Sean (June 16, 2022). "NASA Updates Astronaut Assignments for Boeing Starliner Test Flight". NASA. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  37. ^ Axios (June 5, 2024). "Boeing's Starliner reaches orbit in first crewed mission to ISS". axios.com.
  38. ^ Agius, Matthew Ward (August 16, 2024). "What must NASA decide in order to bring its astronauts home?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  39. ^ NASA (September 6, 2012). "Williams, Hoshide Complete MBSU Installation". nasa.gov. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  40. ^ William Harwood (November 1, 2012). "Astronauts bypass station cooling system on spacewalk". Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  41. ^ Pete Harding, Chris Bergin and William Graham (July 14, 2012). "Soyuz TMA-05M launches trio to the International Space Station". NASAspaceflight.com. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  42. ^ "Dog Whisperer: Astronaut Dogs & Mongo". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
  43. ^ "Astronaut Sunita Williams to adopt Gujarati girl". The Times of India. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
  44. ^ "Sunita Williams sends out Diwali greetings from space". TIMES NOW. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021.
  45. ^ "Sunita Williams". Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  46. ^ American Embassy School (October 5, 2007). "Astronaut Sunita Williams Visits AES". American Embassy School. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
  47. ^ Teran Košir, Alenka (May 14, 2020). "Astronavtka slovenskih korenin razkriva, kaj se dogaja na vesoljski ladji #video" [An Astronaut of Slovenian Origin Reveals What is Going in a Spaceship #video]. Siol.net (in Slovenian).
  48. ^ Hanc, Marjana (March 26, 2013). "Sunita Williams spet v svoji pradomovini" [Sunita Williams in her maternal ancestors' homeland one more time]. Delo (in Slovenian).
  49. ^ "Predsednik republike podpisal ukaz o podelitvi odlikovanja Suniti Williams" [The President of the Republic Signs the Order Awarding the Decoration to Sunita Williams] (in Slovenian). Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia. May 16, 2013.
  50. ^ "ASTRONOMSKI KROŽEK Gimnazije Šentvid, Zanimivosti 2014" (in Slovenian). ARNES.
  51. ^ "RTV 365". RTV 4D (in Slovenian). Radiotelevizija Slovenija.
  52. ^ "Sunita Williams Is Back Again to Her Ancestral Home". 2TM. May 13, 2016.
  53. ^ "Massachusetts school to be named after NASA astronaut Sunita Williams". NBC News. June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  54. ^ "Stay home, reflect and be part of something bigger: Sunita Williams to Indian students stuck in US – Times of India". The Times of India. May 5, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  55. ^ a b c "Sunita L. Williams". NASA. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  56. ^ "Sunita Williams receives Padma Bhushan". Retrieved July 5, 2008.
  57. ^ "Sunita Williams to get her honorary doctorate at GTU – Indian Express". The Indian Express.
  58. ^ "Predsednik republike podpisal ukaz o podelitvi odlikovanja Suniti Williams" (in Slovenian). Retrieved May 20, 2013.

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  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Preceded by ISS Expedition Commander
September 16 to November 18, 2012 		Succeeded by
  1. ^ "'My Body Has Changed': Sunita Williams shares latest health update and changes she is experiencing after months in space". The Economic Times. November 14, 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
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