NASA astronaut Sunita Williams' eight-day space flight mission to the International Space Station (ISS) became a test of perseverance and tenacity as unforeseen setbacks during her Boeing space flight resulted in her extended residence to more than nine months.
Williams and her companion astronaut, Butch Wilmore, said goodbye to the ISS, their home since last June, and departed on a SpaceX capsule with two other astronauts.
The capsule undocked from the ISS on Tuesday and landed off the coast of Florida on Wednesday morning, following 286 days in space. This was Williams' third flight, taking her total time in space to a record 608 days.
Born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, Williams, 59, is the daughter of Deepak Pandya, a Gujarati father from Mehsana, and Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, a Slovenian mother. She is proud of her multicultural background and has frequently carried symbols of her origins to space with her, such as samosas, a Slovenian flag, and a Ganesha idol on her flights.
On her third trip, which started in June last year, Williams became the first woman to break the record for cumulative time spent spacewalking. She accumulated a total of 62 hours and 9 minutes of extra-vehicular activity (EVA), breaking Peggy Whitson's record of 60 hours and 21 minutes. Williams broke this record on January 30, 2023.
A science buff since childhood, Williams first envisioned becoming a veterinary doctor. Upon visiting the US Naval Academy, where her brother Jay was enrolled, however, she was motivated to become a naval officer. It was at this point that the film *Top Gun* was causing a sensation, and Williams wanted to emulate its legendary characters. She finally attained her position in the Naval Aviation Training Command and earned a spot as a naval aviator in 1989, flying helicopters rather than combat aircraft at first.
Williams' time in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, led her overseas to the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf on deployments in support of Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort. Her leadership and performance under stress set the stage for her later career as an astronaut.
Chosen by NASA in 1998 as an astronaut, Williams completed rigorous training at the Johnson Space Center and also collaborated with the Russian Space Agency on their efforts to the ISS. Her first flight was on December 9, 2006, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, when she joined ISS Expeditions 14 and 15 for a 195-day mission.
In 2012, she flew again on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz for a four-month mission. Throughout her career, Williams accomplished numerous firsts, such as running the Boston Marathon in space in 2007, becoming the first individual to do so. She also became only the second female to command the ISS during her second mission and finished a triathlon in orbit. One of her most memorable moments was when she photographed an image that seemed to depict her "touching" the Sun while on a spacewalk.
Williams has traveled to India several times, with journeys in 2007 and 2013 after her space expeditions. She was awarded India's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, in 2008. Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned a letter earlier this month to Williams, admiring her as one of India's eminent daughters and requesting her to visit the nation.
Married to a federal police officer, Michael J. Williams, Sunita is also a keen sportswoman, having a liking for running, swimming, and cycling.
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