New Delhi, March 7 (IANS). On the occasion of International Women’s Day, when we talk about the success of women in the world of space, it is incomplete without the mention of Sunita Williams. This American astronaut of Indian origin has not only spent the most time in space but she also calls space her favorite place.
“Anyone who knows me knows that space is my favorite place,” says Sunita Williams.
Sunita, who has devoted 27 years to her career in NASA, has a special love for space. He had also told, “The space station, the people there, the engineering and science are fantastic. The foundation we have laid will make exploration of the Moon and Mars easier. I am very excited.”
His spirit is clearly reflected in his 608 days of space travel, nine spacewalks and three long flights. Sunita Williams spent a total of 608 days in space, ranking second among NASA astronauts. He ranks sixth in the longest solo flight by an American, spending 286 days with Butch Wilmore on Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Crew-9 missions. She performed nine spacewalks, totaling 62 hours and 6 minutes, a record for the most spacewalks by a woman and fourth in total spacewalk time.
Sunita’s first flight took place in December 2006 on Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116). After this she returned with Space Shuttle Atlantis in the STS-117 mission. She served as flight engineer in Expedition 14/15 and during this period completed four spacewalks, which became a record. Sunita flew from Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2012 in Expedition 32/33 and spent 127 days in space. During this time, she became the commander of Expedition 33 and performed three spacewalks to repair the station radiator.
Sunita and Butch Wilmore fly in the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test mission in June 2024. She joined Expedition 71/72 and Sunita took command of Expedition 72. During this period, she did two spacewalks and returned to Earth in March 2025 under SpaceX Crew-9.
Sunita played many important roles in the American space agency NASA. In the year 2002, worked in Nemo Mission for nine days by living in an underwater habitat. After the first flight, she became the deputy head of the Astronaut Office. After the second mission, she was the Director of Operations in Star City, Russia. Recently also helped in preparing the helicopter training platform for the Moon mission.
Sunita holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the US Naval Academy and a Masters in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. Retired Navy Captain Sunita has completed more than 4 thousand flying hours in 40 types of aircraft. Not only this, Sunita is also the first person to run a marathon in space.
–IANS
MT/Piyush