New Delhi: Following 286 days in space, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams is returning to Earth. She travelled on this assignment with Butch Wilmore. Technological problems delayed their return, originally scheduled for an eight-day mission, by nine months. She is now among the third women on the list having spent the most time in one space mission thanks to this extended stay.
NASA reports that the spacecraft’s engine will ignite the deorbit burn at 2:41 AM on March 19, therefore initiating their departure from Earth’s orbit. The spaceship will then re-enter the atmosphere of Earth and land near Florida’s shore. But depending on the temperature, this is prone to fluctuate. The return trip to Earth will take roughly seventeen hours. Sunita Williams is shining once more with this historic comeback.
Sunita’s Odyssey: Space Education
Sunita Williams was born in Ohio in 1965; her mother,, Bonnie Pandya,, grew up in the United States,, while her father, Deepak Pandya, was originally from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Sunita earned her physical science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1987 after graduating from Needham High School in Massachusetts in 1983. Later in 1995, she graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in engineering management.
Sunita’s path professionally began in the US Navy. 1987 saw her commissioned into the Navy,, and she graduated to be a helicopter pilot. During the Gulf War, she flew sorties; she helped to police no-fly zones above Iraq; she carried relief missions over the destruction of Hurricane Andrew over Miami. NASA was intrigued by her combat flying expertise and ability to operate under challenging circumstances; thus,, she was named an astronaut in June 1998.
The reason NASA chose Sunita Williams
It’s not simple to become an astronaut at NASA. NASA chose Sunita for several reasons. First of all, as a Navy pilot,, she had finished several important missions with success. Her technological expertise and master’s degree also made her the perfectfect applicant for NASA. Her fit for International Space Station (ISS) missions was shown by her cooperative attitude displayed in Navy and relief operations.
Space flight requires both physical and mental endurance, and Sunita did quite well in both. She explored robotic arms and special-purpose dexterous manipulators for use on the ISS and worked in the robotics section following her NASA selection. To show her adaptability to difficult conditions, she also participated in NASA’s NEEMO2 mission, spending nine days underwater at the Aquarius habitat completing scientific activities.
Groundbreaking Success
Sunita Williams is the a record holder for cumulative 62 hours and 6 minutes of extravehicular activity and has completed nine spacewalks. With only Christina Koch (328 days) and Peggy Whitson (289 days) ahead of her, once she spends 286 days aboard the ISS, she would rank third among women having spent the most duration on one trip. Frank Rubio (371 days) holds the longest period spent on the ISS; Peggy Whitson holds the total record for cumulative time spent in space at 675 days.