|
|
|
 |
|
Name |
Sunita Williams |
|
|
Birth Name |
Sunita Pandya Krishna |
|
Nickname |
Suni |
|
Famous as |
NASA Astronaut |
|
Date of Birth |
19th September 1965 |
|
Place of Birth |
Euclid, Ohio, United States |
|
Nationality |
American |
|
Family |
Father – Deepak Pandya (Neuroanatomist)
Mother – Bonnie Pandya
Sister - Dina Pandya
Spouse – Michael J. Williams (Federal Police Officer)
|
|
Education |
School : Needham High School in Needham, Massachusetts.
College :
* Bachelor of Science (Physical Science), United States Naval Academy.
* Master of Science (Engineering Management), Florida Institute of Technology.
|
|
Profession |
Astronaut, United States Navy officer, Test Pilot |
|
Rank |
Captain, USN |
|
Career highlights |
* She was selected and received her Astronaut Candidate Training in 1998.
* After training she worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency on the Russian contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) and with the Expedition-1 crew to the ISS.
* After the return of Expedition-1, she worked within the Robotics branch on the ISS Robotic Arm and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.
* As a NEEMO2 crew member she lived underwater in the Aquarius habitat for 9 days.
* As NASA's official public spokesperson, she was selected to appear on the Colbert Report to announce the name for Node 3 of the ISS.
* She was assigned to the ISS as a member of Expedition-14 and then joined Expedition-15.
* She started her first mission to space station on December 9, 2006 and returned on June 2007.
* On April 16, 2007, she ran the first marathon as an astronaut in orbit.
* She began serving as a flight engineer on Expedition-32 from 1st July 2012.
* She has participated in six spacewalks. (Till 2012)
|
|
Achievements |
* She broke the two spacewalk records for women space travelers (set by another female astronaut Peggy Whitson) - most number of spacewalks and most spacewalk time during her sixth spacewalk, on September 5, 2012.
* Also she holds record for longest space flight among female space travelers.
* She is the first woman astronaut to run marathon in orbit.
* She is the second woman of Indian origin on Space Mission after Kalpana Chawala.
* She is the second astronaut of Slovenian heritage after Ronald M. Sega.
|
|
Honors |
* Navy commendation Medal (twice).
* Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
* Humanitarian Service Medal.
* Medal for 'Merit in Space Exploration'.
* Padma Bhushan.
* Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award.
|
|
Member of |
* Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
* Society of Flight Test Engineers.
* American Helicopter Association.
|
|
Fan of |
Boston Red Sox
|
|
Recreational interests |
Running, Swimming, Biking, Triathlons, Windsurfing, Snowboarding, Bow hunting
|
|
Facts |
* She is an American of Indian and Slovenian descent.
* Her paternal ancestry originates in Gujarat in India.
* During her childhood days she contemplated to become a veterinarian.
* When she came to India, she visited Sabarmati Ashram and her ancestral village Jhulasan in Gujarat (2007).
* She is the first person of Indian origin who is not an Indian citizen to receive Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award, World Gujarati Society.
* She has expressed a desire to adopt a girl from Ahmedabad.
* She has a pet named Gorby.
* She appeared along with her pet on 'Dog Whisperer', National Geographic Channel (2010).
|
Courtesy:
Web Resources
Compiled by: Yashashvini
Other Sites about Sunita Williams
-
Sunita Williams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
Sunita Williams: Latest News, Videos, Photos | Times of India
-
Space walk successful; Sunita Williams installs bolt, breaks record ...
-
Sunita Williams completes her 6th spacewalk, breaks record - World ...
-
Sunita Williams: Latest News, Photos, Videos on Sunita Williams ...
-
On her sixth spacewalk, Sunita Williams successfully installs bolt ...
-
Sunita Williams (Conversion to Islam) - WikiIslam
-
Sunita Williams' 5th spacewalk - Video | The Times of India
-
sunita williams talks from space - YouTube
-
On her 6th spacewalk, Sunita Williams successfully installs bolt - DNA
|
|
|
|