International - India & World   

Indian-origin Sunita Williams to make maiden space expedition

She will serve as a flight engineer on NASA's six-month mission

HOUSTON: Three years after Kalpana Chawla's tragic space expedition, another American astronaut of Indian origin, Sunita Williams will make her maiden journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA's six-month mission. The U.S. space agency's 14th expedition to ISS will begin this fall and the U.S.-born Ms. Williams will serve as a flight engineer, NASA announced on Tuesday. NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria will be the commander of the expedition and the station science officer while Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin will serve as flight engineer and Soyuz commander. Ms. Sunita will join Expedition 14 in progress after travelling to the station on space shuttle mission STS-116.

Roots in Gujarat

Born in Euclid, Ohio on September 19, 1965, Ms. Sunita is married to physicist-turned-U.S. deputy marshal, Michael J Williams. She is the daughter of Deepak Pandya, a physician from Gujarat who migrated to the U.S. in the 1960s and now works at a veterans' hospital. A graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology, she received her commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy from the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1987. She was designated a Naval Aviator in 1989, and graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School in 1993.

`Astronaut Candidate'

Ms. Sunita was selected for the astronaut programme by NASA in June 1998, in part because of her extensive experience on more than 30 different aircraft. She has since been an ``Astronaut Candidate'' under training waiting for her space flight assignment.

Fulfilling her ambition

This will be the first space trip for Ms. Sunita and will fulfil her ambition to fly in space that began with her selection as astronaut in 1998 followed by rigorous training. She has logged more than 2,770 flight hours on 30 different types of aircraft. At NASA, Ms. Sunita has served as a liaison in Moscow supporting Expedition 1 and has supported station robotics work. — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Villepin defiant, will not step down
Terrorist tag removed
Curbs on free expression
After criticism, U.S. softens tactics in Iraq
No regrets, says Cheney
Indian-origin Sunita Williams to make maiden space expedition
Improvement needed in SAFTA: Menon
Arcelor offer but with a rider
Indian housemaids in Qatar better off now
Bahrain to scrap sponsorship system
Executed Indian to be buried in Kuwait

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu