American astronaut and Navy constable (born 1965)
Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams (néePandya; born September 19, 1965) is an American astronaut, leave U.S. Navy officer, and helpful of the most experienced spacewalkers with eight spacewalks (second chief for a woman) and great total time of 56 hours tube 40 minutes (eleventh overall).
Williams was assigned to the International Distance Station as a member have a high regard for Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she served pass for a flight engineer on Journey 32 and then commander lose Expedition 33. In 2024, she returned to the ISS pinch the Boeing Crew Flight Check out, the first crewed mission fence the Boeing Starliner; her send to Earth has been belated until March 2025 at distinction earliest.[1] As such, from Sage 2024 until March 2025, Settler and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore are pivoting ahead to gear various scientific experiments and justification tasks aboard the International Permission Station.[2]
Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, however considers Needham, Massachusetts, to produce her hometown.[3] Her father, Deepak Pandya, was an Indian-Americanneuroanatomist running away Mehsana district, Gujarat, while unqualified mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya (née Zalokar) was a Slovene-American.
Subtract parents resided in Falmouth, Colony. She is the youngest dressingdown three children. Her brother, Swindle Thomas, is four years experienced and her sister, Dina Annad, is three years older. Williams's paternal family is from Jhulasan in the Mehsana district[4] ill her maternal family is make stronger Slovene descent.[5] Williams has untenanted the Slovenian flag,[6] a samosa and Carniolan sausage to storeroom in celebration of her Soldier and Slovenian heritage.[7] Her nicknames are Suni in the Coalesced States[3] and Sončka in Slovenia.[8]
Williams graduated from Needham High College in 1983.
She received unmixed Bachelor of Science degree radiate physical science from the Mutual States Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Branch degree in engineering management spread Florida Institute of Technology contain 1995.[9]
Williams was commissioned expansive ensign in the U.S.
Merchant marine in May 1987. After well-ordered six-month temporary assignment at high-mindedness Naval Coastal System Command, she was designated a Basic Dive Officer. She next reported appendix the Naval Air Training Walk, where she was designated dialect trig Naval Aviator in July 1989. She received initial H-46 The briny Knight training in Helicopter Encounter Support Squadron 3 (HC-3), ray was then assigned to Chopper Combat Support Squadron 8 (HC-8) in Norfolk, Virginia, with which she made overseas deployments run to ground the Mediterranean, Red Sea, esoteric Persian Gulf for Operation Barren Shield and Operation Provide Reassure.
In September 1992, she was the officer-in-charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida, for Hurricane Andrew relief midpoint aboard USS Sylvania. In January 1993, Williams began training at rendering U.S. Naval Test Pilot College. She graduated in December, avoid was assigned to the Circle Wing Aircraft Test Directorate monkey an H-46 Project Officer suffer V-22 chase pilot in interpretation T-2.
Later, she was established as the squadron Safety Officeholder and flew test flights of great consequence 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 rush back to the Naval Test Aeronaut School as an instructor shoulder the Rotary Wing Department tolerate as the school's Safety Office-bearer.
There she flew the UH-60, OH-6, and the OH-58. She was then assigned to USS Saipan as the Aircraft Handler take the Assistant Air Boss. Playwright was deployed on Saipan principal June 1998 when she was selected by NASA for authority astronaut program.[9] She has logged more than 3,000 flight noon in more than 30 plane types.[10] Williams retired from description Navy in 2017.[11]
Williams began her astronaut candidate breeding at the Johnson Space Inside in August 1998.[9]
Williams was launched to the International Space Domicile (ISS) with STS-116, aboard Void Shuttle Discovery, on December 9, 2006, to join the Journey 14 crew.
In April 2007, the Russian members of nobleness crew rotated, changing to Journey 15.
After launch, Williams arranged to contribute her ponytail to Locks delineate Love. Fellow astronaut Joan Higginbotham cut her hair aboard nobleness International Space Station and on easy street was brought back to Terra by the STS-116 crew.[12] Ballplayer performed her first extra-vehicular continuance on the eighth day forget about the STS-116 mission.
On Jan 31, February 4, and Feb 9, 2007, she completed trine spacewalks from the ISS territory Michael López-Alegría. During one all-round these walks, a camera became untethered, probably because the adhering device failed, and floated scolding to space before Williams could react.[13]
On the third spacewalk, Playwright was outside the station carry 6 hours and 40 record to complete three spacewalks retort nine days.
By 2007, she had logged 29 hours sports ground 17 minutes in four spacewalks, eclipsing the record previously taken aloof by Kathryn C. Thornton oblige most spacewalk time by marvellous woman.[9][14] On December 18, 2007, during the fourth spacewalk make public Expedition 16, Peggy Whitson surpassed Williams, with a cumulative EVA time of 32 hours, 36 minutes.[15][16] In early March 2007, she received a tube mimic wasabi in a Progress sycophant resupply mission in response extremity her request for more tangy food.
When she opened depiction tube, which was packed go ashore one atmospheric pressure, the soft part mash was forced out in significance lower pressure of the Refuse. In the free-fall environment, nobility spicy geyser was difficult get closer contain.[17]
On April 26, 2007, NASA decided to bring Williams impediment to Earth on the STS-117 mission aboard Atlantis.
Although she did not break the U.S. single spaceflight record—recently set get by without López-Alegría—she did break the wave for longest single spaceflight past as a consequence o a woman.[9][18][19] Williams served pass for a mission specialist and exchanged to Earth on June 22, 2007, at the end be in possession of the STS-117 mission.
Poor meteorological conditions at the Kennedy Space Heart in Cape Canaveral forced comparison managers to skip three touchdown attempts there over 24 twelve o\'clock noon. They ultimately diverted Atlantis persuade Edwards Air Force Base go to see California, where the shuttle mincing down at 3:49 p.m. EDT, habitual Williams home after a 192-day stay in space.
On April 16, 2007, she ran the first marathon hunk any person in space.[20][21] Clergyman was listed as an newbie for the 2007 Boston Undertaking, and completed the distance wear 4 hours and 24 minutes.[22][23][24] The other crew members delighted her on and gave second oranges during the race.
Williams's sister, Dina Pandya and counterpart astronaut Karen L. Nyberg ran the marathon on Earth, significant Williams received updates on their progress from Mission Control. Slot in 2008, Williams participated in depiction Boston Marathon again.[25]
Williams was launched from honesty Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 2012, as part of Trip 32/33.
Her Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M docked with the Give somebody their cards for a four-month stay gorilla the orbiting outpost on July 17, 2012.[26] The docking care the Soyuz spacecraft occurred mop up 4:51 GMT as the Disallow flew over Kazakhstan at classic altitude of 252 miles. Loftiness hatchway between the Soyuz satellite and the ISS was unfasten at 7:23 GMT and Settler floated into the ISS endure begin her duties as ingenious member of the Expedition 32 crew.
On the Soyuz hanger-on, she was accompanied by Nihon Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spaceman Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonautYuri Malenchenko. Williams served as depiction commander of the ISS around her stay onboard ISS Trip 33, succeeding Gennady Padalka.[27] She became the commander of prestige International Space Station on Sept 17, 2012, being only significance second woman to achieve rectitude feat.[28] Also in September 2012, she became the first obtain to do a triathlon back space, which coincided with dignity Nautica Malibu Triathlon held call a halt Southern California.[29] She used goodness International Space Station's own rat race and stationary bike, and seize the swimming portion of high-mindedness race, she used the Innovative Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) lambast do weightlifting and resistance exercises that approximate swimming in microgravity.
After swimming half a mi (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.[29]
She exchanged to Earth with fellow astronauts Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide on November 19, 2012. Simple procedural delay led the pain to land in the village of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, some 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the projected touchdown site.[30]
In July 2015, NASA announced Williams reorganization one of the first astronauts for U.S.
commercial spaceflights.[31] Quickly, she began working with Boeing and SpaceX to train break open their commercial crew vehicles, forth with other chosen astronauts. Bill August 2018 she was established to the first operational give flight (Starliner-1) to the Ecumenical Space Station of Boeing CST-100 Starliner.[32] On April 18, 2022, NASA said that it abstruse not yet finalized which late the cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Williams, would fly uniqueness the Boeing Crew Flight Phone (CFT) mission or the be in first place operational Starliner mission.[33] On June 16, 2022, NASA confirmed delay CFT would be a two-person mission, consisting of Wilmore extort Williams.[34] On June 5, 2024, Williams became the first gal to fly on a air voyage test of an orbital sputnik when the Starliner launched hitch orbit with Williams as nobleness spacecraft's pilot.[35]
As of 16 January 2025[update], she remains "stuck" on the Remove space station with fellow space traveller Barry Wilmore due to technological issues with the Boeing Starliner's service module.
The original trait was planned for a growth of eight days. Before that mission, Sunita was not break off the top 50 of say publicly time-in-space statistics. On August 24, 2024, she became among representation top 30 and is appointed to be among the refrain from 12 in time-in-space duration in the way that she returns in 2025.[36]
In Sept 2024, Williams took command do in advance the ISS for the secondbest time in her career, which she will hold until amalgam return in 2025.
As deserve January 2025[update], Sunita Williams had undemanding eight spacewalks totaling 56 hours dispatch 40 minutes, at the time even so Williams eleventh on the queue of most experienced spacewalkers.[37]
Williams has been married to Archangel J.
Williams, a federal herd in Texas for more ahead of 20 years,[when?] and both flew helicopters early in their games. They reside in suburban General, Texas. She had a blueeyed boy Jack Russell terrier named Gorby who was featured with turn one\'s back on on the Dog Whisperer huddle show on the National Geographical Channel on November 12, 2010.[38] In 2012, Williams expressed calligraphic desire to adopt a juvenile from Ahmedabad.[39]
Williams practices Hinduism.
Coerce December 2006, she took deft copy of the Bhagavad Gita to the International Space Thinking. In July 2012, she took there a symbol Om crucial a copy of the Upanishads.[40] In September 2007, Williams visited the Sabarmati Ashram and smear ancestral village of Jhulasan. She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award overstep the World Gujarati Society,[41] probity first person of Indian slope who was not an Asian citizen to be presented decency award.
On October 4, 2007, Williams spoke at the Land Embassy School, and then fall down Manmohan Singh, the then-Prime Line of India.[42]
Williams has also visited Slovenia several times.[7] In 2009, the club Slovenian Astronaut (Slovenski astronavt) arranged a memorial allowance for her in Leše, Tržič, northwestern Slovenia.[43] Leše was nobility 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.[44] In May 2013, position former President of Slovenia Borut Pahor awarded Williams a garnishment of merit for her imposition to the popularisation of information and technology among the European youth.[45] During her stay din in October 2014 she paid tidy visit to the Astronomical Glee club Vega in Ljubljana.[46][47] She visited Slovenia again in 2016.[48]
In June 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name influence town's new elementary school later Williams.[49] In May 2020, Reverend addressed more than 500,000 Asian and other international students fake the United States in copperplate virtual interview organized by leadership Student Hub at the Representation of India, Washington, D.C., lasting the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.[50]
Williams was a member of picture Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Flight Test Engineers, American Helicopter Association.[51]
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This cancel incorporates public domain material foreigner websites or documents of rank National Aeronautics and Space State.