NASA Astronauts Sunita Lyn Williams and Butch Wilmore safely returned to Earth, splashing down off the Florida coast on March 18, at around 5:57 pm (3:27 am IST, March 19). The astronaut duo, who took off on an eight-day mission in June 2024, were stranded in space for over nine months due to technical glitches in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. They returned aboard SpaceX's Dragon Freedom capsule alongside astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived at the ISS in December 2024.
Williams' Third Time In Space
Sunita Lyn Williams has spent 608 days of her life in space. The 59-year-old astronaut's first spaceflight experience was as a Flight Engineer with Expedition 14/15 from December 9, 2006, to June 22, 2007.
It was during that flight that Williams set new records for women in space with four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes. She concluded her tour and returned to Earth with the STS-117 crew.
Following that, her next space flight was with Expedition 32/33, which launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in July 2012. She once again set a record for total cumulative spacewalk time with a time of 50 hours and 40 minutes. She, Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko, and Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide of Japan spent four months conducting research and exploration aboard the orbiting laboratory before landing in November 2012.
Sunita Williams Space Walk Record
Sunita Williams holds the record of 62 hours and 6 minutes of total spacewalk time, fourth on NASA's all-time list. In January 2025, she completed her ninth spacewalk, the first in 12 years, setting a new record of 5.5 hours. She and Wilmore successfully completed some technical tasks outside the International Space Station.
The astronauts' primary objectives included removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station's truss and collecting samples of surface material for analysis from the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock, the US space agency said. Williams is still outside in the vacuum of space removing radio communications hardware, they added.
Williams confessed that she had been up there long enough at the moment that she was trying to remember what it felt like to walk. Recently, in a virtual conversation with college students, the Indo-American astronaut shared that after months spent floating in zero gravity, she has neither sat down nor laid down. Now, she is trying to recall the sensation of walking on solid ground.
From Voting To Diwali In Space
In November 2024, Sunita Williams was one among the 1.5 million Americans who cast their vote in the US Presidential election on November 5. NASA's Nick Hague posted a picture of Williams and her co-pilots sporting socks that read, 'Proud to be American. ' He wrote on X, "It doesn’t matter if you are sitting, standing, or floating - what matters is that you vote!"
According to the Texas Harris County Clerk of Court's Office, Williams and co-pilots cast early ballots for president from the International Space Station. The astronauts sent their votes via NASA's Near Space Network, a network of satellites in orbit that connect to antennas on Earth, much like the majority of data sent between the space station and mission control.
Sunita Williams also celebrated Diwali 260 miles away from the Earth. In a video shared by the US White House, Williams recalled her father's commitment to staying true to their cultural roots even after migrating miles away from home. "My father kept and shared his cultural roots by teaching us about Diwali and other Indian festivals. Diwali is a time of joy as goodness in the world prevails," she said.
Sunita Williams' Stellar Career
Sunita Williams belongs to Needham, Massachusetts. Her father, Deepak Pandya, was a renowned neuroanatomist from India. Her mother Ursuline Bonnie (Zalokar) Pandya is a Slovenian. Sunita, commonly known as Suni, received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy, and then a Master of Science degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
She was an ensign in the United States Navy in May 1987 as a Basic Diving Officer. In 1989, she reported to the Naval Air Training Command, where she was designated a Naval Aviator. In 1993, Williams began training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. After her graduation, she was assigned to the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate as an H-46 Project Officer and V-22 chase pilot in the T-2.
In 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, where she flew the UH-60, OH-6, and OH-58 choppers. She was then assigned as an Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss on the USS Saipan in 1998. Williams was selected by NASA for the astronaut program, where she began her training at Johnson Space Center in August 1998.
Williams has recorded more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types. She has received several laurels for her contributions to the US Navy and American space research. Some of her awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (which she won twice), the Legion of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal twice, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
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