Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams ( Pandya; born September 19, 1965) is an American

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

and a retired

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

officer. Williams served aboard the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

as a participant in

Expedition 14 Expedition 14 was the 14th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). Commander Michael López-Alegría, and flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 18 September 2006, 04:09 UTC, aboard Soyuz TMA-9. They j ...

, a

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

for

Expedition 15 Expedition 15 was the 15th expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). Four crew members participated in the expedition, although for most of the expedition's duration only three were on the station at any one time. During Expedition 15 ...

and

Expedition 32 Expedition 32 was the 32nd long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). It began on 1 July 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft, which returned the Expedition 31 crew to Earth, and conclude ...

, and commander of Expedition 33. A member of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, she became the first woman to fly on a flight test of an orbital spacecraft during the 2024

Boeing Crew Flight Test Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) was the first crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner capsule. Launched on 5 June 2024, the mission flew a crew of two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Sta ...

and had her stay extended by technical problems aboard the ISS for more than nine months. She is one of the most experienced spacewalkers in the world: her nine

spacewalks Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...

are second-most by a woman, and her total spacewalk time of 62hours and 6minutes is fourth overall and the most by a woman.

Early life

Williams was born in

Euclid, Ohio Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is an Inner suburb, inner ring suburb of Cleveland. The population was 49,692 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the fo ...

, but considers

Needham, Massachusetts Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. It is the home of Olin College. History ...

, to be her hometown. Her father, Deepak Pandya, was an

Indian-American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

neuroanatomist Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...

from Mehsana district, Gujarat, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya (née Zalokar) was a

Slovene American Slovene Americans or Slovenian Americans are Americans of full or partial Slovene or Slovenian ancestry. Slovenes mostly immigrated to America during the Slovene mass emigration period from the 1880s to World War I. History The first Slove ...

. Her parents resided in

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...

. She is the youngest of three children. Her brother, Jay Thomas, is four years older and her sister, Dina Annad, is three years older. Williams' paternal family is from Jhulasan in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Sunita Williams to start her India trip from April 1
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'', March 31, 2013. whereas her maternal family is of Slovene descent. Williams has taken the Slovenian flag, a

samosa A samosa () () (Hindi: समोसा) ( Persian: سمبوسه) is a fried South Asian and West Asian snack. It is a pastry with a savory filling that mostly consists of vegetables like spiced potatoes, onions, and peas, but can also include ...

and

Carniolan sausage The Carniolan sausage (, , , , Italian dialect of Trieste: ''luganighe de Cragno'') is a Slovenian parboiled sausage similar to what is known as kielbasa or Polish sausage in North America. The noun ''klobasa'' refers to a small sausage gene ...

to space in celebration of her Indian and Slovenian heritage. Her nicknames are Suni in the United States and Sončka in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Williams graduated from

Needham High School Needham High School is a public high school in Needham, Massachusetts, educating grades 9 through 12. Notable alumni and teachers * Charlie Baker, 72nd Governor of Massachusetts * Marsha Bemko, executive producer of Antiques Roadshow. * ...

in 1983. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1987, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

engineering management Engineering management is the application of engineering methods, tools, and techniques to business management systems. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organi ...

from

Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approxim ...

in 1995.

Military career

Williams was commissioned an ensign in the

in May 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she was designated a Basic Diving Officer. She next reported to the

Naval Air Training Command The Naval Air Training Command (NATRACOM) is a one-star Echelon III command that conducts flight training of student Naval Aviators, student Naval Flight Officers and student Air Vehicle Pilots (AVP). Though it does not conduct Naval Aircrew t ...

, where she was designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in July 1989. She received initial

H-46 Sea Knight The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem rotors, tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft aircraft engine, engines. It was designed by Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Helico ...

training in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 ( HC-3), and was then assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 ( HC-8) in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, with which she made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf for

Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and

Operation Provide Comfort Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern ...

. In September 1992, she was the officer-in-charge of an H-46 detachment sent to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida, for

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

relief operations aboard . In January 1993, Williams began training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. She graduated in December, and was assigned to the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate as an H-46 Project Officer and

V-22 The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionalit ...

chase pilot in the T-2. Later, she was assigned as the squadron Safety Officer and flew test flights in the SH-60B/F,

UH-1 The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Bell Huey family, Huey family, as well as the first turb ...

AH-1W The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J ...

, SH-2, VH-3, H-46,

CH-53 The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is a family of American heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The Sea Stallion was originally developed in response to a request from the Unite ...

, and H-57. In December 1995, she went back to the Naval Test Pilot School as an instructor in the Rotary Wing Department and as the school's Safety Officer. There she flew the

UH-60 The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) ...

, OH-6, and the

OH-58 The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...

. She was then assigned to as the Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss. Williams was deployed on ''Saipan'' in June 1998 when she was selected by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

for the astronaut program. She has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types. Williams retired from the Navy in 2017.

Career in NASA

Williams began her astronaut candidate training at the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...

in August 1998.

STS-116

Williams was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with

STS-116 STS-116 (also known as ISS-12A) was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle '' Discovery''. ''Discovery'' lifted off on December 9, 2006 for her 33rd flight at 20:47:35 Easte ...

, aboard Space Shuttle ''Discovery'', on December 9, 2006, to join the

crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated, changing to

Expeditions 14 and 15

After launch, Williams arranged to donate her

ponytail A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most, or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that po ...

to Locks of Love. Fellow astronaut

Joan Higginbotham Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham (born August 3, 1964) is an electrical engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She flew aboard Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' mission STS-116 as a mission specialist and is the third African American woman to go into space ...

cut her hair aboard the International Space Station and it was brought back to Earth by the

crew. Williams performed her first

extra-vehicular activity Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA i ...

on the eighth day of the STS-116 mission. On January 31, February 4, and February 9, 2007, she completed three spacewalks from the ISS with

Michael López-Alegría Michael López-Alegría (born Miguel Eladio López Alegría on May 30, 1958) is an astronaut, test pilot and commercial astronaut with dual nationality, American and Spanish; a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space ...

. During one of these walks, a camera became untethered, probably because the attaching device failed, and floated off to space before Williams could react. On the third spacewalk, Williams was outside the station for 6 hours and 40 minutes to complete three spacewalks in nine days. By 2007, she had logged 29 hours and 17 minutes in four spacewalks, eclipsing the record previously held by Kathryn C. Thornton for most spacewalk time by a woman. On December 18, 2007, during the fourth

spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...

Expedition 16 Expedition 16 was the 16th List of International Space Station Expeditions, expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The first two crew members, Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy Whitson, launched on 10 October 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-11, an ...

Peggy Whitson Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson accumulated a total of ...

surpassed Williams, with a cumulative EVA time of 32 hours, 36 minutes. In early March 2007, she received a tube of

wasabi Wasabi (Japanese language, Japanese: , , or , ) or Japanese horseradish (''Eutrema japonicum'' syn. ''Wasabia japonica'') is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and Mustard plant, mustard in other genus, genera. ...

in a

Progress spacecraft The Progress () is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft. Originally developed for the Soviet space program and derived from the crewed Soyuz spacecraft, Progress has been instrumental in maintaining long-duration space missions by providing ...

resupply mission in response to her request for more spicy food. When she opened the tube, which was packed at one atmospheric pressure, the paste was forced out in the lower pressure of the ISS. In the free-fall environment, the spicy geyser was difficult to contain. On April 26, 2007, NASA decided to bring Williams back to Earth on the

STS-117 STS-117 (ISS assembly sequence, ISS assembly flight 13A) was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June ...

mission aboard ''Atlantis''. Although she did not break the U.S. single spaceflight record—recently set by López-Alegría—she did break the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman. Williams served as a mission specialist and returned to Earth on June 22, 2007, at the end of the STS-117 mission. Poor weather at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

Cape Canaveral Cape Canaveral () is a cape (geography), cape in Brevard County, Florida, in the United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Officially Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated ...

forced mission managers to skip three landing attempts there over 24 hours. They ultimately diverted ''Atlantis'' to

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

in California, where the shuttle touched down at 3:49 p.m. EDT, returning Williams home after a 192-day stay in space.

Marathon in space

On April 16, 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space. Williams was listed as an entrant for the 2007

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

, and completed the distance in 4 hours and 24 minutes. The other crew members cheered her on and gave her oranges during the race. Williams's sister, Dina Pandya and fellow astronaut

Karen L. Nyberg Karen LuJean Nyberg (born October 7, 1969) is an American mechanical engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Nyberg became the 50th woman in space on her first mission in 2008. Nyberg holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. She started her space c ...

ran the marathon on Earth, and Williams received updates on their progress from Mission Control. In 2008, Williams participated in the Boston Marathon again.

Expeditions 32 and 33

Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams exercises on COLBERT

Williams was launched from the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

on July 15, 2012, as part of

/ 33. Her Russian spacecraft

Soyuz TMA-05M Soyuz TMA-05M was the 114th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. It was launched on 15 July 2012, transporting three members of the Expedition 32 crew to the International Space Station (ISS). The Soyuz remained docked to the ISS throughout the mission ...

docked with the ISS for a four-month stay at the orbiting outpost on July 17, 2012. The docking of the Soyuz spacecraft occurred at 4:51 GMT as the ISS flew over Kazakhstan at an altitude of 252 miles. The hatchway between the Soyuz spacecraft and the ISS was opened at 7:23 GMT and Williams floated into the ISS to begin her duties as a member of the Expedition 32 crew. On the Soyuz spacecraft, she was accompanied by

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...

(JAXA) astronaut

Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer, JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology developm ...

and Russian

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

Yuri Malenchenko Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (; born December 22, 1961) is a retired Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was over New Zealan ...

. Williams served as the commander of the ISS during her stay onboard ISS Expedition 33, succeeding

Gennady Padalka Gennady Ivanovich Padalka (; born 21 June 1958 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Russian Air Force officer and Roscosmos cosmonaut. Padalka is the only person to have served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS) four times. He previ ...

. She became the commander of the

on September 17, 2012, being only the second woman to achieve the feat. Also in September 2012, she became the first person to do a triathlon in space, which coincided with the Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in Southern California. She used the

's own treadmill and stationary bike, and for the swimming portion of the race, she used the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to do weightlifting and resistance exercises that approximate swimming in microgravity. After swimming half a mile (0.8 km), biking 18 miles (29 km), and running 4 miles (6.4 km), Williams finished with a self-reported time of one hour, 48 minutes and 33 seconds. She returned to Earth with fellow astronauts

and

on November 19, 2012. A procedural delay led the capsule to land in the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, some from the planned touchdown site.

Commercial Crew program

In July 2015, NASA announced Williams as one of the first astronauts for U.S. commercial spaceflights. She began working with

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

and

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

to train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with other chosen astronauts. In August 2018, she was assigned to the first operational mission flight ( Starliner-1) to the

Boeing CST-100 Starliner The Boeing Starliner (or CST-100) is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists o ...

. On April 18, 2022, NASA said the cadre of Starliner astronauts included Barry Wilmore,

Michael Fincke Edward Michael "Mike" Fincke (born March 14, 1967) is an American astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel. He formerly held the American record for the most time in space (382 days) until it was broken by Scott Kelly on October 16 ...

, and Williams. On June 16, 2022, NASA said the

(CFT) mission would be crewed by Wilmore and Williams. The June 5, 2024, launch of Starliner made Williams, its pilot, the first woman to fly on a flight test of an orbital spacecraft. The mission was scheduled to last eight days, but problems with the Boeing's Starliner service module led NASA to leave Williams and Wilmore aboard the ISS for more than nine months. On 18 March 2025 both returned on

SpaceX Crew-9 SpaceX Crew-9 was the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 15th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Originally scheduled to carry a crew of four to the International Space Station (ISS) in mid-August 2024 ...

(Crew 9 was launched in September 2024, with two vacant seats to accommodate Williams and Wilmore's return). Before the mission, Williams was not among the top 50 astronauts as measured by time in space. On August 24, 2024, she became among the top 30 and is expected to be among the top 12 in time-in-space duration when she returns in 2025. In September 2024, Williams took command of the

ISS The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), ...

for the second time in her career. Williams handed over command of the space station to Roscosmos cosmonaut

Aleksey Ovchinin Aleksey Nikolayevich Ovchinin (; born 28 September 1971) is a Russian cosmonaut and holds the rank of Podpolkovnik#Russia, Podpolkovnik (lieutenant colonel) in the in the Russian Air Force Reserve. He was selected as a cosmonaut in 2006 and mad ...

during a ceremony on March 7, 2025.

Boeing Starliner incident and return to Earth

In 2024, Sunita Williams returned to the ISS on the

, the first crewed mission of the

Boeing Starliner The Boeing Starliner (or CST-100) is a spacecraft designed to transport crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations. Developed by Boeing under NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it consists o ...

. The mission was supposed to last eight days, but technical problems such as helium leaks and propulsion system malfunctions stranded Williams and crewmate

Butch Wilmore Barry Eugene "Butch" Wilmore (born December 29, 1962) is an American NASA astronaut and United States Navy test pilot. He has had three spaceflights, the first of which was an 11-day Space Shuttle mission in November 2009, to the International ...

on the ISS for more than nine months. She returned to Earth with the other crew members of

Crew-9 SpaceX Crew-9 was the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 15th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Originally scheduled to carry a crew of four to the International Space Station (ISS) in mid-August 2024 ...

, landing safely in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

near

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, on March 18, 2025.

Spacewalks

, Williams had made nine spacewalks totaling 62 hours and 6 minutes, setting a total-time record for a woman and ranking fourth overall on the list of most experienced spacewalkers.

Personal life

Williams has been married to Michael J. Williams, a

federal marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, for more than 20 years, and both flew

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s early in their careers. They reside in suburban

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. She had a pet Jack Russell terrier named Gorby who was featured with her on the '' Dog Whisperer'' television show on the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

on November 12, 2010. In 2012, Williams expressed a desire to adopt a girl from

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. Williams practices

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. In December 2006, she took a copy of the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

to the

; in July 2012, she took an '' Om'' symbol and a copy of the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

. In September 2007, Williams visited the

Sabarmati Ashram Sabarmati Ashram is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, adjoining the Ashram Road, on the banks of the River Sabarmati, from the town hall. This was one of the many residences of Mahatma Gandhi who lived at Sabarmati (Gujar ...

and her ancestral village of Jhulasan. She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society, the first person of Indian descent who was not an Indian citizen to be presented the award. On October 4, 2007, Williams spoke at the American Embassy School, and then met

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

, the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

. Williams has also visited Slovenia several times. In 2009, the club ''Slovenian Astronaut'' () arranged a

memorial room A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as homes ...

for her in

Leše, Tržič Leše (, ) is a village in the Municipality of Tržič in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. Name Leše was attested in written sources in 1040 as ''silva que Leschahc nuncupator'' (and as ''predium Lêscah'' in 1050–63, and ''Loschach'' and ...

, northwestern Slovenia. Leše was the birthplace of her great-grandmother Marija Bohinjec, born in 1891, who immigrated to the United States as an 11-year-old in 1900 or 1901. In May 2013, the former President of Slovenia

Borut Pahor Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012. A longtime member and former president of the Social D ...

awarded Williams a medal of merit for her contribution to the popularisation of

science and technology Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

among the Slovenian youth. During her stay in October 2014 she paid a visit to the Astronomical Society Vega in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. She visited Slovenia again in 2016. In June 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name the town's new elementary school after Williams. In May 2020, Williams addressed more than 500,000

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and other international students in the United States in a virtual interview organized by the Student Hub at the

Embassy of India, Washington, D.C. The Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of India to the United States. It is headed by the Indian Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra. India also has consulates-general in Atlanta, Chic ...

, during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

Organizations

Williams was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Society of Flight Test Engineers, and the American Helicopter Association.

Honors and awards

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

NASA Spaceflight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" The Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation aimed at recognising achievements in the space program. It was established by Decree of the President of Russia, presidential decree №1099 of September ...

Government of Russia The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

(2011) *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

(2008) * Honorary Doctorate,

Gujarat Technological University Gujarat Technological University (International Innovative University), commonly referred as ''GTU'', is a public state university affiliating many engineering, pharmacy, and management colleges in Gujarat, India India, officially the ...

(2013) * Golden Order for Merits,

Government of Slovenia The Government of the Republic of Slovenia () exercises executive (government), executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution of Slovenia, Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slo ...

(2013) * Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - Vishwa Pratibha Award * In December 2024, Sunita Williams was included on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' 100 Women'' list.

References

External links

Sunita Williams
–

biography
Departing Space Station Commander Sunita Williams Provides Tour of Orbital Laboratory
(YouTube) November 2012 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Sunita 1965 births Living people 20th-century American naval officers 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American naval officers 21st-century American sportswomen American aviators of Asian descent American female marathon runners American female military personnel of the Gulf War American Hindus American military personnel of Asian descent American people of Gujarati descent American people of Indian descent American people of Slovenian descent American test pilots American women astronauts American women aviators American women engineers Aquanauts Aviators from Ohio Commanders of the International Space Station Female United States Navy officers Florida Institute of Technology alumni Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Euclid, Ohio People from Needham, Massachusetts Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in other fields Space Shuttle program astronauts Spacewalkers United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni United States Navy astronauts United States Navy captains United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War United States Navy personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War Women in the Iraq War Women military aviators Women United States Naval Aviators