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Mumbai, October 7, 2007:
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. - Sunita Williams
NEW DELHI, Sept.,21, 2007: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday 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.
The astronaut, who spent a record 195 days onboard spaceship Discovery, arrived in Ahmedabad yesterday on a week-long visit to India.
Bengalore, September 19, 2007: Astronaut Sunita will 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 to take place in Hydrabad from September
24- 28.
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Red carpet welcome to Sunita Williams in Gujarat on Sept. 18, 2007.
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Sunita Williams is the second woman of Indian heritage to have been selected by NASA for a space mission
after Kalpana. She was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of
Expedition 14 and then joined Expedition 15. She holds three records for female space travelers: longest spaceflight (188
days and counting), number of space walks (four), and total time spent on
spacewalks (29 hours and 17 minutes). Sunita Williams, landed at Edwards Air Force Base at
California at 1.19 am. on June 23, 2007. |
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Sunita Williams was born on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio. Her parents are Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya, who reside in Falmouth,
Massachusetts. Dr. Deepak Pandya is a famous neuroanatomist
from Gujarat in India. 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. |
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Sunita L. Williams
education was: Needham High School, Needham, Massachusetts, 1983. B.S., Physical Science, U.S. Naval Academy, 1987. M.S., Engineering Management, Florida Institute of Technology, 1995.
She joined the Organizations: Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Flight Test Engineers
and American Helicopter Association.
She received the Awards and honors: Navy Commendation Medals (twice), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
and Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards.
Sunita L. Williams started
her NASA career in June 1998. As an expedition 14 flight engineer,
she participates in the mission's third planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction
resumes on the International Space Station. Selected by NASA in June 1998, Williams began her training in August
1998. Her 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 Space Agency on the Russian
contribution to the ISS, and with the first expedition crew sent to the
ISS. Sunita worked within the Robotics branch on the ISS Robotic Arm and the related Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.
She was a crewmember on the NEEMO 2 mission, living underwater in the Aquarius
habitat for nine days in May 2002.
Now she is a mission specialist on STS-117. She was launched on the Space
Shuttle mission STS-116, aboard the shuttle Discovery, on December 10, 2006 to
join the Expedition 14 crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew
rotated, changing to Expedition 15. She has logged 29 hours and 17
minutes in four space walks, eclipsing the record held by Kathryn C. Thornton.
She will just return to Earth in June 2007 at the end of the STS-117 mission.
NEWS
September 18, 2007: Sunita Williams arrives in Gujarat on Thursday morning. It will be an emotional
home coming for us,” said Sunita's father Deepak Pandya. The astronaut has a tight schedule, which includes visits to the Sabarmati
Ashram and the statue of her cousin and former Gujarat Home Minister Haren
Pandya, who was murdered four years ago. Also on the schedule are a visit to her ancestral home,
interactions with students, and various felicitation functions.
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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