Sunita Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
sunita williams
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Williams in 2018
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| Born |
Sunita Lyn Pandya
September 19, 1965 Euclid, Ohio, U.S.
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| Other names | Sonika, Sončka, Sunita Pandya Williams |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | ISS Commander (twice), Captain, USN |
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Time in space
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608 days, 20 minutes |
| Selection | NASA Group 17 (1998) |
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Total EVAs
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9 |
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Total EVA time
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62 hours, 6 minutes |
| Missions |
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Mission insignia
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Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams (born September 19, 1965) is an amazing Indian-American astronaut. She has even been a commander of the International Space Station (ISS) twice! Before becoming an astronaut, she was a U.S. Navy officer.
Sunita is known for her many spacewalks. She has done nine spacewalks, spending a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the ISS. This makes her one of the most experienced spacewalkers ever, and the woman with the most spacewalk hours. She has flown to the ISS on several missions, including STS-116, Soyuz TMA-05M, and the Boeing Crew Flight Test.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sunita Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but she grew up in Needham, Massachusetts. Her father, Deepak Pandya, was from India, and her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya, was Slovene-American. Sunita is the youngest of three children. She has an older brother, Jay Thomas, and an older sister, Dina Annad.
To celebrate her heritage, Sunita has taken special items to space. These include the flag of Slovenia, a samosa (an Indian snack), and Carniolan sausage (a Slovenian food). Her nicknames are Suni in the U.S. and Sončka in Slovenia.
Sunita finished Needham High School in 1983. She then studied physical science at the United States Naval Academy, earning a bachelor's degree in 1987. Later, she got a master's degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
Military Career
Sunita Williams joined the U.S. Navy in 1987. She became a Naval Aviator (a pilot) in 1989. She flew many different types of helicopters, including the H-46 Sea Knight. She even helped with Hurricane Andrew relief efforts in Miami, Florida, in 1992.
In 1993, Sunita went to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. This is where pilots learn to test new aircraft. After graduating, she became a test pilot, flying over 30 different types of aircraft. She has logged more than 3,000 hours flying planes and helicopters. In 1998, while serving on a ship, she was chosen by NASA to become an astronaut. She retired from the Navy in 2017.
Career in NASA
Sunita Williams started her astronaut training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998.
First Space Mission: STS-116
Sunita's first trip to space was on December 9, 2006. She flew on the Space Shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-116 mission. She traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) to join the Expedition 14 crew. Later, she became part of the Expedition 15 crew.
Life on the Space Station
While on the ISS, Sunita did some amazing things. She even donated her ponytail to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children. Another astronaut cut her hair on the ISS, and it was brought back to Earth.
Sunita performed her first spacewalk during the STS-116 mission. She did three spacewalks in just nine days with astronaut Michael López-Alegría. During one of these spacewalks, a camera accidentally floated away into space!
By 2007, Sunita had spent over 29 hours on spacewalks. This broke the record for the most spacewalk time by a woman at that time. She also received a tube of wasabi (a spicy Japanese paste) as a special request. When she opened it in the low-pressure environment of the ISS, the paste shot out like a geyser!
Sunita returned to Earth on June 22, 2007, after spending 192 days in space. This set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.
Marathon in Space
On April 16, 2007, Sunita Williams did something truly unique: she ran a marathon while in space! She was listed as an official participant in the 2007 Boston Marathon. She completed the 26.2-mile distance on a treadmill inside the ISS in 4 hours and 24 minutes. Her fellow crew members cheered her on. Her sister and another astronaut ran the same marathon on Earth, and Sunita received updates on their progress from Mission Control.
Second Space Mission: Expeditions 32 and 33
Sunita launched on her second mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 2012. She traveled on a Russian Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. They docked with the ISS on July 17, 2012, for a four-month stay.
During this mission, Sunita became the commander of the ISS for Expedition 33. She was only the second woman to ever command the space station!
In September 2012, Sunita became the first person to complete a triathlon in space. She used the ISS's treadmill for running and a stationary bike for cycling. For the swimming part, she used a special exercise machine that mimics swimming in microgravity. She completed a half-mile "swim," an 18-mile "bike ride," and a 4-mile "run."
She returned to Earth on November 19, 2012, after another successful mission.
Commercial Crew Program
In 2015, NASA chose Sunita Williams to be one of the first astronauts to fly on new U.S. commercial spacecraft. She worked with companies like Boeing and SpaceX to train for their new crew vehicles.
In June 2022, it was announced that Sunita would be part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission. This was the first time Boeing's Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft would carry astronauts.
On June 5, 2024, Sunita Williams became the first woman to pilot a flight test of an orbital spacecraft when Starliner launched. The mission was supposed to be short, but due to some issues with the Starliner, Sunita and her fellow astronaut, Barry Wilmore, stayed on the ISS for eight months. They returned to Earth on March 18, 2025, aboard SpaceX Crew-9. During this extended stay, Sunita's total time in space increased significantly, making her one of the top astronauts for time spent in space.
In September 2024, Sunita took command of the International Space Station for the second time in her career.
Spacewalks
As of early 2025, Sunita Williams has completed nine spacewalks. Her total time spent outside the ISS is 62 hours and 6 minutes. This makes her the woman with the most spacewalk hours and ranks her fourth overall among all astronauts for cumulative spacewalk time.
Personal Life
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Sunita Williams is married to Michael J. Williams. They both flew helicopters early in their careers. They live in Houston, Texas. She had a pet Jack Russell Terrier named Gorby, who even appeared on a TV show called Dog Whisperer.
Sunita practices Hinduism. She has taken important Hindu texts, like the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, to the International Space Station. She has also visited her ancestral village in India and met the Prime Minister of India.
Sunita has visited Slovenia, her mother's home country, several times. In 2013, the former President of Slovenia gave her a special medal for helping to make science and technology popular among young people in Slovenia.
In 2017, a new elementary school in her hometown of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after her.
Honors and Awards
Sunita Williams has received many awards for her service and achievements, including:
- Defense Superior Service Medal
- Legion of Merit
- NASA Spaceflight Medal
- Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" from the Government of Russia (2011)
- Padma Bhushan from the Government of India (2008)
- Honorary Doctorate from Gujarat Technological University (2013)
- Golden Order for Merits from the Government of Slovenia (2013)
- Included on the BBC's 100 Women list in 2024.
Images for kids
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Joan Higginbotham and Williams working with the Canadarm2 on the ISS.
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Williams during a spacewalk on September 5, 2012.
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Williams at Science City Kolkata in April 2013.
_and_Sunita_Williams_(Expedition_14)_on_the_International_Space_Station.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Sunita Williams para niños
- List of Asian American astronauts
- List of women astronauts
