2024-09-21 03:27:24
Washington: Today is the 59th birthday of Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams. Sunita was born on September 19, 1965 in Ohio, USA. Her journey began at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where she enrolled in 1983. In 1987, Williams received rigorous combat helicopter training and has flown missions during the Persian Gulf War, establishing a no-fly zone over the Kurdish regions of Iraq, and worked in Hurricane Andrew relief efforts in Miami. Sunita, who calls herself a Hanuman devotee, is today recognized as a distinguished astronaut.
Sunita Williams joined the Navy Test Pilot Training Center in 1993, where she flew 30 types of aircraft and logged more than 2,770 flight hours. After earning a master’s degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology, she joined NASA’s astronaut program in 1998. Subsequent training in Moscow with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) set the stage for her bright future in space research.
Williams’s historical achievements
Williams’ historic journey to space began on December 9, 2006, with the STS-116 mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. She set many records as a flight engineer for Expeditions 14 and 15. On July 5, 2012, Williams began her second space mission aboard Soyuz TMA-05M. She served as a flight engineer for Expedition 32 and later as commander of Expedition 33.
In 2015, Sunita Williams was selected as one of the astronauts for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The program aimed to advance private spacecraft for ISS missions. Sunita piloted the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner in 2024. She managed to get Boeing to the ISS despite facing technical issues such as thruster failures and helium leaks.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft took off on June 5, carrying Sunita and her experienced space partner. Boeing’s Starliner faced technical problems, which forced the mission to be extended. On September 6, NASA decided to bring the spacecraft back without its crew to ensure the safety of the astronauts. Sunita Williams is expected to be rescued by SpaceX in February 2025. Currently, she is in space with her fellow astronauts.