In all possibility, she might be the third Indian to fly into the space. Once she goes into the space, for Sunita Lyn Williams, it must be a dream come true. 

Sunita was born in Euclid, Ohio, in September 19, 1965 to Dr. Deepak and Mrs. Ursaline Bonnie Pandya. She went to the Needham High School, in Needham, Massachusetts. She graduated from the school in the year 1983. She went to the U.S. Naval Academy to study for a B.S. Physical Science degree. She graduated in the year 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System command, she was designated as a Basic Diving Officer. Then, she commenced training in aviation. 

In July 1989, Sunita was nominated as a Naval aviator.  Later, she learnt how to fly a helicopter. Subsequent to completion of the training, she took an active part in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8. Sunita’s squadron was based at Norfolk, Virginia. She took part in several overseas operations in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. In January 1993, she was selected for the United States Naval Test Pilot School. She completed the course in December.  

Later, she joined as a H-46 Project Officer and a V – 22 Chase Pilot in the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate. Sunita completed M.S. in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995. In December 1995, she joined as an Instructor in the Naval Test Pilot School. After the stint in Naval School, she joined as an Aircraft Handler and Assistant Air Boss at the USS Saipan (LHA – 2). Then, in June 1998, NASA selected her for astronaut’s training program. She joined the training in August 1998. 

After the completion of the astronaut candidate-training program, Sunita worked in Moscow. She worked with the Russian Space Agency on the International Space Station (ISS) first expedition project. After the successful completion of the ISS first expedition, she worked in the Robotics branch of the ISS. Currently, Sunita is assigned as a back up crewmember for Expedition – 10 of the ISS.

She has logged over 2300 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. These include SH-60B/F, UH-1, AH-1W, SH-2, VH-3, H-46, CH-53 and the H-57 UH-60, OH-6 and the OH-58..

Designations  

Lieutenant Commander, US Navy
Astronaut Candidate (Mission Specialist), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

ORGANIZATIONS:

Sunita is a member of

SPECIAL HONORS:  

Sunita has received many service awards in her career. Some of these include:  

HOBBIES:  

Sunita is known to take part in sports. She is into running, swimming, biking, triathlons, windsurfing, snowboarding, and bow hunting.