Indian-Origin Astronaut Sunita Williams Poised For 3rd Trip To Space

NASA astronaut Sunita Lyn Williams has spent 321 days, 17 hours, and 15 minutes of her life in space and she is all set to embark on her third space mission soon. She is undergoing training as one of the first-ever pilots of the Crew Flight Test mission aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. NASA said in a statement that "The mission is targeting launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida." 

'Suni' Williams and astronaut Butch Wilmore will lift off aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and dock at the orbiting laboratory, where they will stay for about a week, the NASA statement read. 

Third Time In Space

Sunita Lyn Williams will be heading to space for the third time in her life. The 58-year-old astronaut's first spaceflight experience was as a Flight Engineer with Expedition 14/15 from December 9, 2006, to June 22, 2007.

It was during that flight that Williams set new records for women in space with four spacewalks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes. She concluded her tour and returned to Earth with the STS-117 crew. 

Following that, her next space lift was with Expedition 32/33 which launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in July 2012. She once again set a record for total cumulative spacewalk time with a time of 50 hours and 40 minutes.

She, Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko, and Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide of Japan spent four months conducting research and exploration aboard the orbiting laboratory before landing in November 2012.

Sunita Lyn Williams' Stellar Career

Williams belongs to Needham, Massachusetts. Her father, Deepak Pandya, was a renowned neuroanatomist from India. Her mother Ursuline Bonnie (Zalokar) Pandya is a Slovenian. 

Sunita, commonly known as Suni, received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy, and then a Master of Science degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.

She was an ensign in the United States Navy in May 1987 as a Basic Diving Officer. In 1989, she reported to the Naval Air Training Command, where she was designated a Naval Aviator.

In 1993, Williams began training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. After her graduation, she was assigned to the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate as an H-46 Project Officer and V-22 chase pilot in the T-2.

In 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, where she flew the UH-60, OH-6, and OH-58 choppers.

She was then assigned as an Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss on the USS Saipan in 1998. Williams was selected by NASA for the astronaut program, where she began her training at Johnson Space Center in August 1998.

Williams has recorded more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types. She has received several laurels for her contributions to the US Navy and American space research.

Some of her awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (which she won twice), the Legion of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal twice, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal.