Sunita Williams

 Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams is an American astronaut and a retired U.S. Navy officer. Williams served aboard the International Space Station as a participant in Expedition 14, a flight engineer for Expedition 15 and Expedition 32, 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 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 are second-most by a woman, and her total spacewalk time of 62 hours and 6 minutes is fourth overall and the most by a woman.

Early life- Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Massachusetts, to be her hometown. Her father, Deepak Pandya, was an Indian-American neuroanatomist from Mehsana district, Gujarat, while her mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya was a Slovene American. Her parents resided in Falmouth, Massachusetts. 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 whereas her maternal family is of Slovene descent. Williams has taken the Slovenian flag, a samosa and Carniolan sausage to space in celebration of her Indian and Slovenian heritage. Her nicknames are Suni in the United States and Sončka in Slovenia.

Williams graduated from Needham High School in 1983. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Science degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.

Military career- Williams was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy 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, where she was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She received initial H-46 Sea Knight training in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3, and was then assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, with which she made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf for Operation 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 aboard USS Sylvania. 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 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, AH-1W, SH-2, VH-3, H-46, CH-53, 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, OH-6, and the OH-58. She was then assigned to USS Saipan as the Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss. Williams was deployed on Saipan in June 1998 when she was selected by NASA 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.