Sunita Williams
Suni Williams | |
---|---|
NASA astronaut | |
Rank | Captain, USN |
Time in space | 321d 17h 15m |
Selection | NASA Group 17 (1998) |
Total EVAs | 7 |
Total EVA time | 50hrs 40mins |
Missions | STS-116/117 (Expedition 14/15) Soyuz TMA-05M (Expedition 32/33) Boeing Crewed Flight Test |
Mission insignia |
Sunita Lyn Williams (
Early life and education
Williams is a native of
Williams graduated from
Military career
Williams was commissioned an ensign in the
In December 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. There she flew the
Career in NASA
Williams began her astronaut candidate training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998.[5]
STS-116
Williams was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with STS-116, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, on December 9, 2006, to join the Expedition 14 crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated, changing to Expedition 15 .
Expeditions 14 and 15
After launching Williams arranged to donate her pony tail to
On the third spacewalk, Williams was outside the station for 6 hours and 40 minutes to complete three spacewalks in nine days. By 2007, she had logged 29 hours and 17 minutes in four spacewalks, eclipsing the record previously held by
On April 26, 2007, NASA decided to bring Williams back to Earth on the STS-117 mission aboard Atlantis. Although she did not break the U.S. single spaceflight record that had been recently broken by former crew member Commander Michael López-Alegría, she did break the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman.[5][18][19] Williams served as a mission specialist and returned to Earth on June 22, 2007, at the end of the STS-117 mission. Poor weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral forced mission managers to skip three landing attempts there over a 24-hour period. They then diverted Atlantis to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the shuttle touched down at 3:49 p.m. EDT, returning Williams home after a 192-day stay in space.
Marathon in space
On April 16, 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space.
Expeditions 32 and 33
Williams was launched from the
She returned to Earth with fellow astronauts
Commercial Crew program
In July 2015, NASA announced Williams as one of the first astronauts for
Spacewalks
As of August 2012[update], Sunita Williams had made seven spacewalks totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes,[34] at the time putting Williams fifth on the list of most experienced spacewalkers.[35] On August 30, 2012, Williams and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide ventured outside the ISS to conduct US EVA-18. They removed and replaced the failing Main Bus Switching Unit-1 (MBSU-1), and installed a thermal cover onto Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2).[36]
Personal life
Williams is married to Michael J. Williams, a
Williams practices
Williams has also visited
In June 2017, the
Organizations
Williams was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Flight Test Engineers, American Helicopter Association.[50]
Honors and awards
- Navy Commendation Medal
- Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- Service Medal[clarification needed]
- NASA Spaceflight Medal
- Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration", Government of Russia (2011)
- Padma Bhushan, Government of India (2008)[51]
- Honorary Doctorate, Gujarat Technological University (2013)[52]
- Golden Order for Merits, Government of Slovenia (2013)[53]
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award
See also
- List of Asian American astronauts
- List of female spacefarers
References
- ^ "Sunita Williams: Najljubša mi je Zemlja, ker je na njej Slovenija" [Sunita Williams: My Favourite Place Is Earth Because Slovenia Is on It]. Žurnal24.si (in Slovenian). April 18, 2021.
- ^ "Astronaut Biography: Sunita Williams". SpaceFacts.de. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ "Astronaut Biography" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Houston, Texas. August 2018.
- ^ Garcia, Mark. "Peggy Whitson Breaks Spacewalking Record". NASA blog. NASA. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g NASA (2007). "Sunita L. Williams (Commander, USN)" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ "Spacewalking astronauts conquer stiff bolt, install key power unit on 2nd trip outside". Associated Press. 2012. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
- ^ a b Tariq Malik (2007). "Orbital Champ: ISS Astronaut Sets New U.S. Spacewalk Record". Space.com. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ Sunita Williams to start her India trip from April 1, The Times of India, March 31, 2013.
- COBISS 246861824.
- ^ Hanc, Marjana (June 6, 2014). "Slovenska zastava je v vesolju 2032-krat obkrožila Zemljo" [Slovenian Flag Orbits Earth 2032 Times in Space]. Delo (in Slovenian).
- ^ a b Bartolj, Jaka (August 20, 2015). "One of the most notable female astronauts of all time is partly of Slovenian descent". Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ "SpaceShipOne Flight Logs". World Spaceflight. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ CollectSpace.com (December 20, 2006). "Astronaut cuts her hair in space for charity". CollectSpace.com. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ "Astronaut's Camera is Lost In Space". Adoama.com. December 22, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ CollectSpace (2007). "Astronauts make 100th station spacewalk". CollectSpace. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ^ NASA (2007). "Spacewalkers Find No Solar Wing Smoking Gun". NASA. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ^ Schneider, Mike (March 2, 2007). "Space station suffers". NBC News. Retrieved March 2, 2007.
- ^ "Ham-astronauts setting records in space". ARRLWeb. The American Radio Relay League. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ Mike Schneider for Associated Press (2007). "Astronaut stuck in space — for now". NBC News. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ Eldora Valentine (April 6, 2007). "Race From Space Coincides with Race on Earth". NASA. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ "Sunita Williams Runs Marathon in Space". Zee News Limited. April 17, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ Jimmy Golen for Associated Press (2007). "Astronaut to run Boston Marathon — in space". NBC News. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ NASA (2007). "NASA Astronaut to Run Boston Marathon in Space". NASA. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ "Cheruiyot wins Boston Marathon". aljazeera.com. April 22, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Sunita Williams' spacecraft docks with ISS". The Times of India. July 17, 2012.
- ^ "Sunita Williams takes over command at International Space Station". The Times of India. September 17, 2012. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
- ^ "Indian-American astronaut Sunita williams takes over command at space station". The Indian Express. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- ^ a b Moskowitz, Clara (September 17, 2012). "NASA Astronaut Completes 1st Triathlon in Space". Space.com.
- ^ "Sunita Williams returns to Earth after 4 months in space". India Today. November 19, 2012.
- ^ NASA (July 9, 2015). "NASA Selects Astronauts for First U.S. Commercial Spaceflights". nasa.gov.
- ^ "NASA Assigns Crews to First Test Flights, Missions on Commercial Spacecraft". NASA. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ Clark, Stephen. "Starliner astronauts eager to see results of crew capsule test flight – Spaceflight Now". Retrieved May 19, 2022.
- ^ Potter, Sean (June 16, 2022). "NASA Updates Astronaut Assignments for Boeing Starliner Test Flight". NASA. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
- ^ NASA (September 6, 2012). "Williams, Hoshide Complete MBSU Installation". nasa.gov. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
- ^ William Harwood (November 1, 2012). "Astronauts bypass station cooling system on spacewalk". Retrieved November 4, 2012.
- ^ Pete Harding, Chris Bergin and William Graham (July 14, 2012). "Soyuz TMA-05M launches trio to the International Space Station". NASAspaceflight.com. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ^ "Dog Whisperer: Astronaut Dogs & Mongo". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
- ^ "Astronaut Sunita Williams to adopt Gujarati girl". The Times of India. June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
- ^ "Sunita Williams sends out Diwali greetings from space". TIMES NOW. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021.
- ^ "Sunita Williams". Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ^ American Embassy School (October 5, 2007). "Astronaut Sunita Williams Visits AES". American Embassy School. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
- ^ Teran Košir, Alenka (May 14, 2020). "Astronavtka slovenskih korenin razkriva, kaj se dogaja na vesoljski ladji #video" [An Astronaut of Slovenian Origin Reveals What is Going in a Spaceship #video]. Siol.net (in Slovenian).
- ^ Hanc, Marjana (March 26, 2013). "Sunita Williams spet v svoji pradomovini" [Sunita Williams in her maternal ancestors' homeland one more time]. Delo (in Slovenian).
- ^ "Predsednik republike podpisal ukaz o podelitvi odlikovanja Suniti Williams" [The President of the Republic Signs the Order Awarding the Decoration to Sunita Williams] (in Slovenian). Office of the President of the Republic of Slovenia. May 16, 2013.
- ^ "ASTRONOMSKI KROŽEK Gimnazije Šentvid, Zanimivosti 2014" (in Slovenian). ARNES.
- ^ "RTV 365". RTV 4D (in Slovenian). Radiotelevizija Slovenija.
- ^ "Sunita Williams Is Back Again to Her Ancestral Home". 2TM. May 13, 2016.
- ^ "Massachusetts school to be named after NASA astronaut Sunita Williams". NBC News. June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Stay home, reflect and be part of something bigger: Sunita Williams to Indian students stuck in US – Times of India". The Times of India. May 5, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ "Sunita L. Williams - NASA". Retrieved October 11, 2023.
- ^ "Sunita Williams receives Padma Bhushan". Retrieved July 5, 2008.
- ^ "Sunita Williams to get her honorary doctorate at GTU – Indian Express". The Indian Express.
- ^ "Predsednik republike podpisal ukaz o podelitvi odlikovanja Suniti Williams" (in Slovenian). Retrieved May 20, 2013.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
External links
- Sunita Williams at IMDb
- NASA biography of Sunita Williams August 2018
- Take a tour in ISS with Sunita Williams November 2012
- Pics: Sunita Williams' journey home and beyond
- Sunita L. Williams' Memorial Room. Zavod Slovenski astronavt. June 2023.