Sunita Williams

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sunita Williams

• Sunita Williams’ paternal family belongs to Jhulasan village in the Mehsana district in Gujarat, India.

•  She enjoyed athletic activities as a child and participated in long-distance swimming competitions in both high school and college.

  

• Sunita Williams met Michael J. Williams at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1987. The couple dated for a while before marrying each other.

• After graduating as a Naval Test pilot in December 1993, she flew 30 different aircraft and logged more than 2,770 hours as a test pilot instructor.

  

• She received training in robotics and other ISS operational technologies in Moscow while working with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) in 1998.

• She is the former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman which is seven.

• Williams has three dogs named Gunner, Bailey, and Rotor and many chickens. On 12 November 2010, her pet Jack Russell Terrier ‘Gorby’ (deceased) appeared on the “Dog Whisperer” television show on the National Geographic Channel.

  

• She participated in the Boston Marathon and ran 42.2 km (26.2 miles) on the space treadmill at ISS in 2007.

• Sunita Williams’ mother, Bonnie Pandya, wrote a book about her dog Gorby, who died while she was in space.

• Williams carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a small figurine of the Hindu deity Ganesha, and some samosas on Expeditions 14 and 15 in 2006.

• Sunita Williams donated her ponytail to the Locks of Love (a non-profit organisation) while she was aboard Expedition 14 and 15; the ponytail was brought back to earth by the STS-116 crew.

• In September 2007, she was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society, making her the first person of Indian origin who is not an Indian citizen to be given this award. She also visited her ancestral village, Jhulsana, Gujarat during this trip.

• She carried a small painting of Lord Shiva on Expedition 32/33 in 2012.

• Amul, an Indian MNC, created a special ad to celebrate Sunita Williams’ return to Earth after 4 months in space in 2012.

  

• She took part in the triathlon held at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in Southern California from space in 2012. She swam half a mile, ran 4 miles, and cycled for 8 miles, using equipment such as a stationary bike, treadmill, and strength resistance training machine.

• A school was built and named after her in 2019, replacing the aged-out Hillside Elementary School, which Williams attended as a kid in Needham, Massachusetts, USA.

  

• She is a member of many organisations including the Society of Experimental, Test Pilots Society of Flight Test Engineers, and the American Helicopter Association.

• Sunita Williams holds the record for a total spacewalk of 50 hours and 40 minutes by a woman. She also ranks 8th on the list of most experienced spacewalkers.

• Sunita Williams attended the prestigious state dinner in Washington, DC, hosted by US President Joe Biden in honour of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023, where she met other esteemed guests like Anand Mahindra, Mukesh Ambani, and Vrinda Kapoor.

• After several years of delay of Boeing’s Starliner first crewed space mission, it was reported that the mission would be launched in June 2024, and Sunita Williams would fly into space for a third time. Butch Wilmore was also reported to accompany Williams on Boeing’s Starliner spaceship.

• On 6 June 2024, she became the first woman to pilot and test a new crewed spacecraft on its first journey. After arriving at the International Space Station (ISS), she celebrated her third trip to the ISS with a joyful dance.
  

• Her return to Earth scheduled on 13 June 2024, was delayed due to a leak (helium leak) in the Starliner rocket. She was stranded at the International Space Station along with her colleague Butch Wilmore.

• In November 2024, a photo of her went viral on the internet, revealing that she had lost a significant amount of body mass. According to sources, her mission on the International Space Station (ISS) was originally intended to last for three months. However, due to technical glitches on board the ISS, she ended up spending more than six months there by November 2024.

  

• In January 2025, NASA released a statement stating that Sunita Williams’ return to Earth was delayed until March 2025 due to a technical failure. Following this, Sunita and her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore issued a heartfelt plea requesting NASA to allow them to return to their families.

• In the same month, after Donald Trump took over as the President of the US, he directed Elon Musk to arrange for a space vessel from SpaceX to bring Sunita and Butch back to Earth.

• Thereafter, she set a new record for the longest spacewalk, lasting 62 hours and 6 minutes, surpassing Peggy Whitson‘s previous record of 60 hours.

• On 19 March 2025, Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), after spending 286 days in space, onboard SpaceX’s Crew 9 Dragon Spacecraft which landed safely off the Florida coast. The duo will undergo a 45-day rehabilitation course before being released.