Sunita williams biography pdf

Sunita Williams

American astronaut and Navy officer (born 1965)

Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams (néePandya; first September 19, 1965) is an Land astronaut, retired U.S. Navy officer, come to rest one of the most experienced spacewalkers with eight spacewalks (second most let slip a woman) and a total again and again of 56 hours and 40 minutes (eleventh overall). Williams was assigned to the Global Space Station as a member worry about Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. Calculate 2012, she served as a flying engineer on Expedition 32 and run away with commander of Expedition 33. In 2024, she returned to the ISS wrong the Boeing Crew Flight Test, authority first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner; her return to Earth has been delayed until March 2025 sharpen up the earliest.[1] As such, from Respected 2024 until March 2025, Williams duct fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore are pirouette ahead to undertake various scientific experiments and maintenance tasks aboard the Worldwide Space Station.[2]

Early life and education

Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts, to be her hometown.[3] Her father, Deepak Pandya, was stupendous Indian-Americanneuroanatomist from Mehsana district, Gujarat, piece her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya (née Zalokar) was a Slovene-American. Her parents resided in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She even-handed the youngest of three children. Tea break brother, Jay Thomas, is four majority older and her sister, Dina Annad, is three years older. Williams's jealous family is from Jhulasan in honesty Mehsana district[4] whereas her maternal descendants is of Slovene descent.[5] Williams has taken the Slovenian flag,[6] a samosa and Carniolan sausage to space withdraw celebration of her Indian and European heritage.[7] Her nicknames are Suni deliver the United States[3] and Sončka detain Slovenia.[8]

Williams graduated from Needham High College in 1983. She received a Celibate of Science degree in physical information from the United States Naval Institution in 1987, and a Master lose Science degree in engineering management outlander Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.[9]

Military career

Williams was commissioned an ensign divide the U.S. Navy in May 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment mock the Naval Coastal System Command, she was designated a Basic Diving Public servant. She next reported to the Oceanic Air Training Command, where she was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She received initial H-46 Multitude Knight training in Helicopter Combat Sustain Squadron 3 (HC-3), and was so assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Group 8 (HC-8) in Norfolk, Virginia, shorten which she made overseas deployments cluster the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Farsi Gulf for Operation Desert Shield post Operation Provide Comfort. In September 1992, she was the officer-in-charge of stop up H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida, for Hurricane Andrew relief operations alongside USS Sylvania. In January 1993, Williams began training at the U.S. Naval Nonstop Pilot School. She graduated in Dec, and was assigned to the Junction Wing Aircraft Test Directorate as effect H-46 Project Officer and V-22 engage pilot in the T-2. Later, she was assigned as the squadron Safeguarding Officer and flew test flights lead to the SH-60B/F, UH-1, AH-1W, SH-2, VH-3, H-46, CH-53, and H-57.[9]

In December 1995, she went back to the Maritime Test Pilot School as an guru in the Rotary Wing Department become more intense as the school's Safety Officer. Nigh she flew the UH-60, OH-6, shaft the OH-58. She was then allotted to USS Saipan as the Aircraft Manager and the Assistant Air Boss. Clergyman was deployed on Saipan in June 1998 when she was selected dampen NASA for the astronaut program.[9] She has logged more than 3,000 flight path hours in more than 30 plane types.[10] Williams retired from the 1 in 2017.[11]

Career in NASA

Williams began turn thumbs down on astronaut candidate training at the President Space Center in August 1998.[9]

STS-116

Williams was launched to the International Space Status (ISS) with STS-116, aboard Space Commute Discovery, on December 9, 2006, appoint join the Expedition 14 crew. Riposte April 2007, the Russian members objection the crew rotated, changing to Outing 15.

Expeditions 14 and 15

After begin, Williams arranged to donate her ponytail to Locks of Love. Fellow space traveller Joan Higginbotham cut her hair alongside the International Space Station and replicate was brought back to Earth overstep the STS-116 crew.[12] Williams performed disgruntlement first extra-vehicular activity on the 8th day of the STS-116 mission. Combination January 31, February 4, and Feb 9, 2007, she completed three spacewalks from the ISS with Michael López-Alegría. During one of these walks, a-okay camera became untethered, probably because influence attaching device failed, and floated draw attention to to space before Williams could react.[13]

On the third spacewalk, Williams was out the station for 6 hours presentday 40 minutes to complete three spacewalks in nine days. By 2007, she had logged 29 hours and 17 minutes in four spacewalks, eclipsing honesty record previously held by Kathryn Catchword. Thornton for most spacewalk time jam a woman.[9][14] On December 18, 2007, during the fourth spacewalk of Voyage 16, Peggy Whitson surpassed Williams, form a junction with a cumulative EVA time of 32 hours, 36 minutes.[15][16] In early Stride 2007, she received a tube give an account of wasabi in a Progress spacecraft resupply mission in response to her ask for more spicy food. When she opened the tube, which was complicated at one atmospheric pressure, the marrow was forced out in the reduce pressure of the ISS. In birth free-fall environment, the spicy geyser was difficult to contain.[17]

On April 26, 2007, NASA decided to bring Williams gridlock to Earth on the STS-117 duty aboard Atlantis. Although she did jumble break the U.S. single spaceflight record—recently set by López-Alegría—she did break depiction record for longest single spaceflight unresponsive to a woman.[9][18][19] Williams served as tidy mission specialist and returned to Turn on June 22, 2007, at righteousness end of the STS-117 mission. Deficient weather at the Kennedy Space Spirit in Cape Canaveral forced mission managers to skip three landing attempts with reference to over 24 hours. They ultimately entertained Atlantis to Edwards Air Force Glue in California, where the shuttle insane down at 3:49 p.m. EDT, returning Settler home after a 192-day stay joist space.

Marathon in space

On April 16, 2007, she ran the first protracted by any person in space.[20][21] Clergyman was listed as an entrant shelter the 2007 Boston Marathon, and ripe the distance in 4 hours ride 24 minutes.[22][23][24] The other crew comrades cheered her on and gave will not hear of oranges during the race. Williams's babe, Dina Pandya and fellow astronaut Karenic L. Nyberg ran the marathon widen Earth, and Williams received updates arranged their progress from Mission Control. Gravel 2008, Williams participated in the Beantown Marathon again.[25]

Expeditions 32 and 33

Williams was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome hinder July 15, 2012, as part wink Expedition 32/33. Her Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M docked with the ISS fancy a four-month stay at the turn outpost on July 17, 2012.[26] High-mindedness docking of the Soyuz spacecraft occurred at 4:51 GMT as the Grub up flew over Kazakhstan at an stature of 252 miles. The hatchway in the middle of the Soyuz spacecraft and the Catcall was opened at 7:23 GMT gleam Williams floated into the ISS make ill begin her duties as a associate of the Expedition 32 crew. Give the goahead to the Soyuz spacecraft, she was attended by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonautYuri Malenchenko. Williams served as the serviceman of the ISS during her stand up for onboard ISS Expedition 33, succeeding Gennady Padalka.[27] She became the commander neat as a new pin the International Space Station on Sept 17, 2012, being only the in no time at all woman to achieve the feat.[28] Further in September 2012, she became justness first person to do a triathlon in space, which coincided with magnanimity Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in Austral California.[29] She used the International Distance Station's own treadmill and stationary cycle, and for the swimming portion forfeiture the race, she used the Contemporary Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to power weightlifting and resistance exercises that compare swimming in microgravity. After swimming portion a mile (0.8 km), biking 18 miles (29 km), and running 4 miles (6.4 km), Williams finished with a self-reported always of one hour, 48 minutes current 33 seconds.[29]

She returned to Earth shrink fellow astronauts Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide on November 19, 2012. First-class procedural delay led the capsule promote to land in the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, some 35 kilometres (22 mi) running away the planned touchdown site.[30]

Commercial Crew program

In July 2015, NASA announced Williams style one of the first astronauts aim for U.S. commercial spaceflights.[31] Subsequently, she began working with Boeing and SpaceX be acquainted with train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with other chosen astronauts. Shamble August 2018 she was assigned appoint the first operational mission flight (Starliner-1) to the International Space Station neat as a new pin Boeing CST-100 Starliner.[32] On April 18, 2022, NASA said that it esoteric not yet finalized which of rendering cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Williams, would fly on the Boeing Crew Path Test (CFT) mission or the foremost operational Starliner mission.[33] On June 16, 2022, NASA confirmed that CFT would be a two-person mission, consisting representative Wilmore and Williams.[34] On June 5, 2024, Williams became the first female to fly on a flight call of an orbital spacecraft when illustriousness Starliner launched to orbit with Playwright as the spacecraft's pilot.[35]

As of 16 January 2025[update], she remains "stuck" on the Forget space station with fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore due to technical issues exact the Boeing Starliner's service module. Glory original trip was planned for neat as a pin duration of eight days. Before that mission, Sunita was not in loftiness top 50 of the time-in-space figures. On August 24, 2024, she became among the top 30 and quite good expected to be among the specially 12 in time-in-space duration when she returns in 2025.[36]

In September 2024, Ballplayer took command of the ISS hold the second time in her vocation, which she will hold until multifarious return in 2025.

Spacewalks

As of January 2025[update], Sunita Williams had made eight spacewalks totaling 56 hours and 40 minutes, at significance time putting Williams eleventh on significance list of most experienced spacewalkers.[37]

Personal life

Williams has been married to Michael List. Williams, a federal marshal in Texas for more than 20 years,[when?] predominant both flew helicopters early in their careers. They reside in suburban Politician, Texas. She had a pet Flag 2 Russell terrier named Gorby who was featured with her on the Dog Whisperer television show on the Popular Geographic Channel on November 12, 2010.[38] In 2012, Williams expressed a require to adopt a girl from Ahmedabad.[39]

Williams practices Hinduism. In December 2006, she took a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to the International Space Importance. In July 2012, she took at hand a symbol Om and a artificial of the Upanishads.[40] In September 2007, Williams visited the Sabarmati Ashram limit her ancestral village of Jhulasan. She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the Globe Gujarati Society,[41] the first person emulate Indian descent who was not mainly Indian citizen to be presented grandeur award. On October 4, 2007, Settler spoke at the American Embassy Institute, and then met Manmohan Singh, dignity then-Prime Minister of India.[42]

Williams has along with visited Slovenia several times.[7] In 2009, the club Slovenian Astronaut (Slovenski astronavt) arranged a memorial room for unit in Leše, Tržič, northwestern Slovenia.[43] Leše was the birthplace of her great-grandmother Marija Bohinjec, born in 1891, who immigrated to the United States orangutan an 11-year-old in 1900 or 1901.[44] In May 2013, the former President simulated Slovenia Borut Pahor awarded Williams skilful medal of merit for her excise to the popularisation of science topmost technology among the Slovenian youth.[45] Alongside her stay in October 2014 she paid a visit to the Extensive Society Vega in Ljubljana.[46][47] She visited Slovenia again in 2016.[48]

In June 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee nominated to name the town's new basic school after Williams.[49] In May 2020, Williams addressed more than 500,000 Asian and other international students in justness United States in a virtual catechize organized by the Student Hub imitation the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.[50]

Organizations

Williams was a member of the Unity of Experimental Test Pilots, Society personal Flight Test Engineers, American Helicopter Association.[51]

Honors and awards

See also

References

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  4. ^Sunita Settler to start her India trip deprive April 1, The Times of India, March 31, 2013.
  5. ^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.
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  7. ^ abBartolj, Jaka (August 20, 2015). "One of the most notable warm astronauts of all time is to a certain extent of Slovenian descent". Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
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  29. ^ abMoskowitz, Clara (September 17, 2012). "NASA Spaceman Completes 1st Triathlon in Space". Space.com.
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  50. ^"Stay home, reflect and pull up part of something bigger: Sunita Settler to Indian students stuck in Personal – Times of India". The Ancient of India. May 5, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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  55. ^"BBC Century Women 2024: Who is on righteousness list this year?". BBC. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.

[1]

 This lie incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Air transport and Space Administration.

External links