Setting records for women in space, Indian-origin American astronaut Sunita Williams embodies the immeasurable joy of following your passion, no matter the cost.

By Nichola Marie

“We really have the most beautiful planet in our solar system. None other can sustain life like we know it. None other has blue water and white clouds covering colourful landmasses filled with thriving, beautiful living things like human beings…” – Sunita Williams

A daunting trip that has stretched from eight days to eight months, it will be a long while yet before record-setting NASA astronaut Sunita Williams can set eyes on Earth’s ‘colourful landmasses’ and mingle amidst the planet’s ‘beautiful living things’.
Williams, along with astronaut Butch Wilmore, became the first to ride the much-delayed Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) on 5th June on an eight-day mission. However, their return has been postponed to 2025 due to helium leaks and many thruster malfunctions on the spacecraft. The two NASA astronauts are expected to return to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, as NASA has deemed issues with Starliner’s propulsion system too risky to carry its first crew home.
This forced extended stay in space, orbiting around 400 km above Earth, has meant that Williams and Wilmore have to endure and fight various dangers, physical and mental. These include the superbug that is already present on the ISS, radiation, and the threat to their health from the gravity-less environment on the ISS which can affect the immunity system, cause muscle and bone loss, and affect the brain and mental health. Ever the fighter, Williams’ sickness-combating regimen includes a strict exercise schedule to maintain bodily fluid balance, as well as, to keep bodily organs functioning to the optimum level.
Recently, MP P Chidambaram echoed thousands of sentiments in India and across the world when he wrote, “I am amazed by the capacity of humans to face uncertainty and risks. Nothing illustrates this better than the courage and patience shown by astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore stuck in a space station. Their planned 8-day test flight will now stretch to more than 8 months. I salute their bravery and wish them safety and good health until they return to Earth.”

Shining Star

Williams has a special place in India’s heart and vice-versa, as she has stated, “I really appreciate my Indian heritage.” To celebrate her Indian and Slovenian heritage, she has, in the past, taken a samosa, and a Carniolan sausage into space. This year, on 4th July, she said in a video message, “India and the US have had much success working together to explore the stars. And our future together could not be brighter.” She was alluding to the joint project between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to send an Indian astronaut to space.
Born in Euclid, Ohio, and residing in Massachusetts, her father, Deepak Pandya, was an Indian-born neuroanatomist from Mehsana district, Gujarat, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya (née Zalokar) was a Slovene-American. The youngest of three children, she graduated from Needham High School in 1983. Receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987, she followed it up with a Master of Science degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
Entering the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1983, she was made an ensign in 1987 and reported for aviator training at the Naval Aviation Training Command. Beginning combat helicopter training in July 1989, she went on to fly in helicopter support squadrons during the preparations for the Persian Gulf War and the establishment of no-fly zones over Kurdish areas of Iraq, as well as in relief missions during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in Miami.
Becoming a naval test pilot in 1993, she later became a test pilot instructor. Her formidable record saw her flying more than 30 different aircraft and logging 2,770-plus flight hours. Selected for the gruelling astronaut programme, she was stationed aboard the USS Saipan.
Entering astronaut training in 1998, Williams travelled to Moscow, where she received training in robotics and other ISS operational technologies while working with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) and with crews preparing for expeditions to the ISS.

Setting Records

Flying aboard the Discovery space shuttle on the STS-116 mission to the ISS on December 9, 2006, she served as a flight engineer for expeditions 14 and 15. Williams made four spacewalks during her stay at the space station. She totalled more than 29 hours outside the spacecraft, spending more than 195 days in space. Both of these were records she set for women in space. Incidentally, while in space, she also participated in the Boston Marathon, running 42.2km on the station’s treadmill!
In July 2012, she flew to the ISS again, as part of the crew of Soyuz TMA-05M. A flight engineer on Expedition 32, on September 16 she became commander of Expedition 33. She made three more spacewalks, which totalled more than 21 hours. Her sporting spirit was evident yet again as she completed a triathlon in space, using a treadmill, a stationary bicycle, and a weightlifting machine to simulate the swimming portion of the race. Returning to Earth in November after spending nearly 127 days in space, her two spaceflights combined totalled more than 321 days.
Williams became one of the four astronauts selected in 2015 to make the first test flights in NASA’s commercial crew programme. This new project involves two new private crewed spacecraft, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, taking astronauts and supplies to the ISS.
Coming back to the present, in 2022, Williams was chosen for the first crewed test Starliner flight to the ISS, as pilot alongside commander Barry Wilmore. Launching on June 5, 2024, Starliner docked at the ISS a day after its launch; subsequently, its flight to Earth was delayed by NASA to ensure a safe return for Williams and Wilmore.

Hooked For Life

Her first flight and Williams was hooked for life. Describing a space flight launch to CNT, she shared, “When the engines start up, you think, ‘Holy moly, we’re really going’. Just eight minutes later, you’re in space… All of a sudden your arms start floating. I took my helmet off and it floated away and for me it was six months before I felt gravity again.” Describing the first time she saw space as “awesome”, she details, “there is a distinct layer between the Earth and the universe; which is extremely black. Slowly, the entire universe starts to look 3D, like you can fly through it rather than this sphere of blackness overhead. And when you’re above the atmosphere, there isn’t water vapour in the air to make things foggy. There are windows at the top of the space shuttle and about 10 minutes into the flight, my commander said, ‘Suni come here’. I fly up to the flight deck — you don’t have to use the ladder, it’s incredible — and I look out and am amazed. You can see the curvature of the Earth. The moon is amazing, shaded by hundreds of complex greys, whites, and blacks. The stars are crystal clear and you can see that some are closer than others.”

Light Of Inspiration

Williams has received numerous awards and honours throughout her career. These include the Navy Commendation Medal and the NASA Spaceflight Medal, as well as India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for her contributions to space exploration.
More importantly, Williams’ inspiring achievements and life story serve as a motivation for young people, especially girls, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Like she said in an interview back in 2008, “Don’t let anyone ever tell you, ‘You can’t do it’. That’s the biggest thing…” Further, she is a symbol of empowerment for her courage, resilience, and capacity to break barriers.

When not at work, the record-making astronaut and her husband Michael J Williams, a federal marshal, enjoy hanging out with their dogs, working out, working on houses, cars, and airplanes, as well as hiking and camping. Remaining calm and supportive despite the challenges, he recently said that space was her happy place, even if she had to be there indefinitely. Under the feigned casualness, a safe return remains uppermost on every mind. Godspeed, Sunita Williams!