Daughter of Deepak Pandya from Jhulasan in Mehsana District in Gujarat, Sunita Williams is on her third trip to the International Space Station. The visuals of the much-celebrated astronaut are making the rounds on social media, where she is seen entering the ISS with dancing movements and a cheerful disposition.
The Indian-American Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore were welcomed aboard by seven members of the International Space Centre. Sunita Williams appeared relaxed and pleased to be back for the third time.
Sunita navigated the SUV-sized Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which she helped design, to dock up to the ISS. The Boeing Starline is being shaped as an alternative to the SpaceX Crew Module to ferry astronauts for an eventual commercial crew programme. Sunita has named the spacecraft ” Calypso” based on the famous ship of the French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, which explored the oceans. Sunita will spend one week on board the ISS to conduct various scientific experiments. She is scheduled to make a landing on land instead of at sea.
The remarkable Ms. Williams is originally an American Navy Officer. She was trained as an astronaut by NASA to be sent on a space expedition on December 9, 2006. She went on the space mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery to NASA’s International Space Station.
Sunita Williams was in space on July 15, 2012, for the second time, through a space shuttle named Soyuz from Russia as a part of Expedition 32/33. On September 17, 2012, she was appointed as the commander of the International Space Station, becoming the second woman to do so.
Born in 1965, Sunita graduated from Needham High School, Massachusetts In 1983. Inclined towards science and engineering, since the beginning, she pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987. She received a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
Sunita Williams is an inspiration for all women who dare to dream while shouldering family responsibilities. Sunita Williams is a triumph of womankind. She holds the record for the maximum number of spacewalks done by a female, after spending more than 321 days, 17 hours, and 15 minutes in space. She is ranked among five of the most experienced spacewalkers. She was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2008.
Sunita Williams’ mother is of Slovak descent. Sunita is married to Michael J Williams.
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