What makes Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams the icon she is

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Tomes could, and probably will, be written about Sunita (Suni) L. Williams, the Indian American astronaut, who along with her colleague Butch Wilmore, has become a familiar face in American living rooms over the last 9 months in space.

For school children around the country, Sunita has for years been a source of inspiration, appearing virtually in classrooms around the country. She did that during her 9-month foray in space, displaying a grit and courage and a calm that made it seem like no big deal – anyone can be an astronaut.

Not so…. as her biography on the NASA website clearly reveals.

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Born September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio to Dr. Deepak and Bonnie Pandya, Williams considers Needham, Massachusetts to be her hometown. She graduated from Needham High School in 1983, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Physical Science at the  U.S. Naval Academy, 1987.  She also has a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology (1995).

Suni, as she is affectionately known, lives with her husband Michael, and the two “enjoy hanging out with their dogs, working out, working on houses, working on cars, working on airplanes, hiking and camping,” the NASA bio notes. And as Suni said about her unplanned 9-month stay, it was harder for people at home, including the dogs, to take her absence. For her, it was a ho-hum daily workplace up in orbit, conducting experiments and keeping the International Space Station okay, and … walking in space of course.

“It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,” she is quoted saying in media reports. “We’re here. We have a mission. We’re just doing what we do every day. And you know, every day is interesting because we’re up in space, and it’s a lot of fun. I think the hardest part is having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we’re coming back.”

Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of three space missions, Expeditions 14/15, 32/33 and 71/72. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, for its first crewed flight, arriving at the International Space Station on June 6. Following the agency’s decision to return Starliner uncrewed, the duo became Expedition 71/72 crewmembers and returned home March 19, 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Suni has completed 62 hours and 6 minutes of total spacewalk time over the course of her career, the most of any female astronaut, and fourth on NASA’s all-time list. She has logged 608 days in space over her three flights. She has logged more than 3000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft.

Before she joined NASA, Suni was in the US Navy, receiving her commission as an Ensign after attending US Naval Academy.

Williams has an illustrious career rising from the ranks. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she received her designation as a Basic Diving Officer and then reported to Naval Aviation Training Command.  She was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989.  She then reported to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 for initial H46, Seaknight, training. Upon completion of this training, she was assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, and made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort.

In September 1992, she was the Officer-in-Charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida for Hurricane Andrew Relief Operations onboard USS Sylvania.  Williams was selected for United States Naval Test Pilot School and began the course in January 1993.  After graduation in December 1993, 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.  While there, she was also assigned as the squadron Safety Officer and flew test flights in the SH-60B/F, UH-1, AH‑1W, SH-2, VH-3, H-46, CH-53 and the H-57.

In December 1995, she went back to the Naval Test Pilot School as an Instructor in the Rotary Wing Department and the school’s Safety Officer where she flew the UH-60, OH-6 and the OH-58.  From there, she was assigned to the USS Saipan (LHA-2), Norfolk, Virginia, as the Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss. Williams was deployed onboard USS Saipan when she was selected for the astronaut program.

She has undergone a rigorous astronaut training.

Selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, she reported for training in August 1998. Astronaut Candidate Training included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training and ground school to prepare for T-38 flight training, as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques.

Following a period of training and evaluation, Williams worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency on the Russian contribution to the space station and with the first Expedition Crew. Following the return of Expedition 1, Williams worked within the Robotics branch on the station’s Robotic Arm and the follow-on Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. As a NEEMO2 crew member, she lived underwater in the Aquarius habitat for 9 days.

After her first flight, she served as Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office. She then supported a long-duration mission as Flight Engineer for Expedition 32 and International Space Station Commander for Expedition 33.

Spaceflight Experience

Expedition 14/15 (December 9, 2006 to June 22, 2007). Williams launched with the crew of STS-116 on December 9, 2006, docking with the International Space Station on December 11, 2006. As a member of the Expedition 14 crew, Williams served as Flight Engineer. While onboard, she established a then-world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes. Williams concluded her tour of duty as a member of the Expedition 15 crew returning to Earth with the STS-117 crew to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California on June 22, 2007.

Expedition 32/33 (July 14 to November 18, 2012).  Williams launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, along with Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, on July 14, 2012.  They were welcomed on the International Space Station on July 17, 2012, by NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts, Expedition 32 commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin.  Williams spent four months conducting research and exploration aboard the orbiting laboratory.  She landed in Kazakhstan on November 18, 2012, after spending 127 days in space.  During their Expedition, Williams and Hoshide performed three spacewalks to replace a component that relays power from the space station’s solar arrays to its systems, and repair an ammonia leak on a station radiator.

During Expedition 72, as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9, Williams completed a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore to help remove a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss and collected samples and surface material for analysis from the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock. During this spacewalk, Williams surpassed former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. Williams now has 62 hours, 6 minutes of total spacewalk time, fourth on NASA’s all-time list.

Awards/Honors

Suni has received several awards, among them DSSM (2), Legion of Merit, Navy Commendation Medal (2), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards. Suni belongs to several organizations including the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Flight Test Engineers, and American Helicopter Association.

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