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Woman Astronaut - Sunita Williams
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Sunita Williams is an American lady of Indian origin. She is the second woman of Indian heritage to have been selected by NASA for a space mission after Kalpna Chawla and the second astronaut of Slovenian heritage after Ronald M. Sega. She holds three records for female space Travelers, longest space flight (195 days) number of space walks (four) and total time spent on space walks (29 hours and 17 minutes). Sunita Williams, landed at Edwards  Air Force Base at California at 1.19 am. on June 23, 2007.
Sunita Williams was born on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio. Her parents are Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya, who reside in Falmouth, Massachusetts.Deepak Pandya is a famous neuroanatomist from Gujarat in India. Her parents, Dr. Deepak and Mrs. Bonnie Pandya, reside in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Sunita has been to India to visit her father's family. Among the personal items she  took with her to the International Space Station (ISS) are a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a small figurine of Ganesha and some samosas. Sunita L. Williams was married to Michael J. Williams.
Williams attended Needham High School in Needham, Massachusetts, graduating in 1983. She went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical science from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
Williams received her commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987.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. There 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 logged over 2770 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
Selected 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 Federal Space Agency on the Russian contribution to the International Space Station and with the first Expedition crew to the ISS.
Following the return of Expedition 1, Williams has worked within the Robotics branch on the ISS Robotic Arm and the follow on Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. As a NEEMO 2 crewmember she lived underwater in the Aquarius habitat for 9 days. She is currently assigned to the Expedition-14 crew. She will join Expedition 14 in progress, to serve as a flight engineer, after traveling to the International Space Station with the crew aboard STS-116.
1. Complete Space Shuttle Mission Coverage
2. Complete ISS Expedition 14 Mission Coverage

Sunita Williams served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. She launched with the crew of STS-116 on December 9, 2006, docking with the station on December 11, 2006. As a member of the Expedition-14 crew Sunita Williams established a world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes of EVA. (Astronaut Peggy Whitson subsequently broke the record in 2008 with her five total spacewalks). 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 on June 22, 2007. During her increment in space, Suni Williams broke the existing record by Shannon Lucid, setting a new record for females of 195 days in space.

            Sunita Williams awarded Navy Commendation Medal (2), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards.
Recreational interests
Sunita Williams recreational interests include running, swimming, biking, triathlons, windsurfing, snowboarding and bow hunting. She has a pet Jack Russell Terrier named Gorby which was featured with her on the "Dog Whisperer" television show on the National Geographic Channel on November 12, 2010.
Sunita  Williams visits India
Sunita Williams visited India in September 2007. The astronaut, who spent a record 195 days onboard spaceship Discovery, arrived in Ahmedabad on September 18, 2007 a week-long visit to India.  She went to the Sabarmati Ashram set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1915, and also went her ancestral village Jhulasan in Gujarat. She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society, the first person of Indian origin who is not an Indian citizen to be presented the award. She also visited her cousin's home on her nephew's birthday.
On October 4, 2007, Williams spoke at the American Embassy School, and then met Indian President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 
On October 7, 2007 in Mumbai she said, " We are responsible for keeping Earth as we found it. From space, we saw glacier in Himalayas. Major changes are going on the planet and we need to own up to that."  
On  September 21, 2007 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams is a role model for women and children in the country. Singh, who spoke to the astronaut in Ahmedabad over phone, invited her to visit him in New Delhi. He said she is a "role model" for Indian children and "sources of inspiration for Indian women," a PMO spokesman said.  
  Astronaut Sunita recount the technological challanges associated with the International Space Station to a galaxy of scientists from across the world in Hyderabad on September 20. These scientists - 2000 of them, including head of space agencies of US, Russia, Japan, China, Canada, Europe and India at the  58th International Astronautical Congress held in Hydrabad from September 24- 28.
Sunita is a Ganesh devotee, and had even taken a Ganesha idol with her when she visited the International Space Station on her record- breaking space flight. Sunita's relatives at her uncle's home in Ahmedabad, who celebrated her visit to Earth with gusto, are also looking forward to seeing her again. "She loves Gujarat and she is returning here after a long time. Sunita is returning to Ahmedabad after a gap of almost ten years. But given her hectic schedule, she might not be able to spend too much time with the family. 

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