She enjoyed a short “dance party” upon arriving at the ISS and gave the other seven crew members hugs. To my family and friends who shared this [moment] for a very long time, a heartfelt thank you. Ms. Williams, who has made two trips to the International Space Station (ISS)—once on a shuttle and the second time on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft—said, “I think you are glad we are not with you anymore and we have another family up here which is just awesome.”
Speaking prior to her space mission, Ms. Williams,59, stated that although she is a little nervous about flying in a new ship, she has “no jitters” and that once she arrives at the International Space Station, “it will be like going back home”.
NASA told NDTV that Ms. Williams would be served a unique Indian cuisine called “fish curry” during her space mission, which will help her feel at home as a seasoned astronaut.
She devoured a lot of samosas on previous flights. NDTV has been informed by NASA that “Suni” will not be carrying samosas on this journey. Her passion for Indian food stems from her parents’ heritage.
Ms. Williams, who was born into a family of doctors, Deepak and Bonnie Pandya, made history once more when she became the first woman to fly aboard a new human-rated spaceship on its inaugural flight.
Ms. Williams, a pilot with Navy training, has already logged 322 days in space. She was the first female astronaut to complete a total of ten spacewalks, but Peggy Whitson has since surpassed her record.
Ms. Williams revealed to NDTV prior to her travel that she would be bringing a statue of Lord Ganesh on the commercial crew flight, citing it as a lucky charm. She went on to say that she was glad to have Lord Ganesh with her in space and that she was more spiritual than religious.
She had already taken Bhagwad Gita copies into space. She added that she loved samosas. She loves to run marathons and did so while she was stationed at the International Space Station.
Born in Jhulasan, in the Mehsana District of Gujarat, Ms. Williams’ father was a neuro-anatomist. He eventually migrated to the United States and wed Bonnie Pandya, a Slovenian. She was chosen to be a member of the select group of astronauts who will travel on NASA’s commercial crew program in 2015, according to NASA, after the Space Shuttle was retired in 1998.
Space X has been building new spacecraft to transport humans to and from the International Space Station since 2020 after NASA chose the company together with Boeing.
After numerous delays, the Boeing Starliner made it to the International Space Station on its maiden mission.
She traveled with Navy test pilot Barry Eugene “Butch” Wilmore, a 61-year-old astronaut who had made two spaceflights. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carried both veterans to the International Space Station. According to NASA, the astronauts will stay in the orbiting laboratory for around a week until the crew capsule lands in the southwest of the country using an airbag and a parachute.
Notably, Ms. Williams chose the name “Calypso” for the spacecraft she would pilot, emulating the well-known ship that famous French oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau used to explore the waters when she was still a student.
Along with having a school named after her in the USA, the “Sunita Williams Elementary School” in the town of Needham, if everything goes according to plan on June 10 she will also engage with students from the space station.
NASA states that “Suni” and her spouse Michael like to work on cars, homes, airplanes, hike, camp, and spend time with their dogs. She has over 3,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft as a navy test pilot.
