Sunita Williams

Military career

Williams was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy in May 1987. After a temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she became a Basic Diving Officer. She was designated a naval aviator in July 1989 following training at the Naval Air Training Command. She trained on the H-46 Sea Knight with Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 and then served with Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, deploying to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort.

In September 1992, she led an H-46 detachment for Hurricane Andrew relief operations aboard USS Sylvania. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in December 1993 and worked as an H-46 Project Officer and V-22 chase pilot. She later served as squadron Safety Officer and flew test flights in multiple helicopter types. In December 1995, she returned to the Naval Test Pilot School as an instructor and Safety Officer, flying the UH-60, OH-6, and OH-58.

She then served on USS Saipan as Aircraft Handler and Assistant Air Boss. She was selected by NASA for the astronaut program in June 1998 while deployed on Saipan. She logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types and retired from the Navy as a captain in 2017.

Career in NASA

Williams began astronaut candidate training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998. She launched to the ISS on STS-116 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on December 9, 2006, joining Expedition 14. In April 2007, the crew transitioned to Expedition 15. During the mission, she donated her ponytail to Locks of Love; fellow astronaut Joan Higginbotham cut it aboard the station.

She performed her first spacewalk on the eighth day of STS-116. With Michael López-Alegría, she completed three spacewalks on January 31, February 4, and February 9, 2007. During one, a camera became untethered and floated away. On the third spacewalk, she spent 6 hours 40 minutes outside, completing three spacewalks in nine days.

By 2007, she had logged 29 hours 17 minutes in four spacewalks, surpassing Kathryn C. Thornton's record for most spacewalk time by a woman. Peggy Whitson later surpassed Williams on December 18, 2007. In early March 2007, a tube of wasabi she requested burst open in the ISS's low pressure, creating a spicy geyser. NASA decided on April 26, 2007, to return her on STS-117 aboard Atlantis.

She broke the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman. She returned to Earth on June 22, 2007, after a 192-day stay, landing at Edwards Air Force Base after weather diverted Atlantis from the Kennedy Space Center.

Retirement from NASA

After a 27-year career with NASA, Sunita Williams retired effective December 27, 2025. NASA announced her retirement on January 20, 2026.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called her a trailblazer in human spaceflight. Following the announcement, she visited the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi to deliver a lecture titled The Making of an Astronaut: Sunita Williams' Story, where she spoke about her experiences during Expeditions 71 and 72. She remarked that every new project has ups and downs but teaches and prepares for what comes next.

Personal life

Williams has been married to Michael J. Williams, a federal marshal in Texas, for more than 20 years; both flew helicopters early in their careers. They live in suburban Houston, Texas. She had a Jack Russell terrier named Gorby featured with her on the Dog Whisperer television show on November 12, 2010. In 2012, she expressed a desire to adopt a girl from Ahmedabad.

She practices Hinduism and took a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to the ISS in December 2006, and an Om symbol and a copy of the Upanishads in July 2012. In September 2007, she visited the Sabarmati Ashram and her ancestral village of Jhulasan. She received the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award from the World Gujarati Society, the first person of Indian descent not an Indian citizen to receive it. She has visited Slovenia several times; a memorial room for her was arranged in Leše, Tržič, the birthplace of her great-grandmother.

She visited Slovenia again in 2016 and 2026. In June 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name a new elementary school after her. In May 2020, she addressed over 500,000 students in a virtual interview organized by the Student Hub at the Embassy of India.

Did You Know?

• Williams ran the first marathon by any person in space on April 16, 2007, completing the Boston Marathon distance in 4 hours 24 minutes.
• She became the first person to do a triathlon in space in September 2012, using the ISS treadmill, stationary bike, and ARED for the swimming portion.
• Williams has taken the flag of Slovenia, a samosa, and Carniolan sausage to space to celebrate her Indian and Slovenian heritage.