Sunita williams 2012 flag

Williams took charge of the space station from Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who is returning to Earth on Sunday after months commanding the outpost's six-person "I would like to thank our [Expedition] 32 crewmates here who have taught us how to live and work in space, and of course to have a lot of fun up in space," Williams told Padalka during a change of command ceremony. She will officially take charge of the station on Sunday, after Padalka and two crewmates board their Williams, 46, is a captain in the U.S. Navy and flying on her second long-duration space mission. She first launched into space in 2007 and spent 195 consecutive days in space, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight by a female astronaut. On Wednesday (Sept. 19), she'll celebrate her birthday in space. In a NASA interview before launch, Williams said a friend asked her if she was nervous about commanding the space station. She said no, adding that the more than two years of training alongside her Expedition 32 and 33 crewmates, as well as the Mission Control team, prepared all the space station crewmembers for life in space. "When you get up on the space station, you know what to do, so I’m not nervous about it all," Williams said. "I’m psyched." The first female commander of the Mission Control sent Williams a few words to mark her new role as space station skipper. "Congratulations on the promotion to your new position," a flight control told Williams after today's ceremony. "We kno...

The space station has its own treadmill and stationary bike, which use harnesses and straps in place of gravity to keep astronauts from floating away. To simulate the swimming portion of the race, Williams used what's called the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to do weightlifting and resistance exercises that approximate swimming in microgravity. "It's critically important to understand human physiology and how to keep you strong on orbit," NASA's flight director in Mission Control said after Williams completed the triathlon, congratulating her on a race "well done." Exercise is mandatory for all astronauts, because without it spaceflyers' muscles and bones would deteriorate in weightlessness. "A big shout out to our astronaut strength and conditioning folks, who were really interested in this and who got this whole workout together," Williams said after her race, adding thanks to the staff of NASA's Exercise Lab as well as neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, CNN's medical correspondent, who trained with Williams before her launch and completed the race in Malibu. "Thanks everybody for your support and ideas about health and fitness and how important it is for humans and getting us back into long-duration spaceflight," Williams said. An avid athlete, Williams began training for the triathlon before she launched to the space station July 14. After arriving in space, she virtually ran the Aug. 12 Falmouth Road Race, a seven-mile race run in Falmouth, Mass., as part of her t...

A new elementary school in Massachusetts will be named after Indian-American NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who formerly held the Earlier this month, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name a new elementary school being built to replace an existing one in Needham — a town 17 miles southwest of Boston — Sunita L. Williams Elementary School. “The committee felt Sunita represented Needham Public Schools not because she attended Needham Public Schools and coincidentally also attended the school that is being rebuilt. Sunita represents a woman in the STEM field … which is important for young women in the country to see other women involved in,” Heidi Black, chair of the Needham School Committee, told NBC News. Astronaut Sunita L. Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998, has spent a total of 322 days in space, and previously served in the Navy. Courtesy of NASA Williams was born in Ohio, but grew up in Needham and attended public schools in the town. She considers it her hometown. Williams is one of two Asian Americans in NASA’s astronaut corp, which currently consists of 44 active astronauts, Brandi Dean, public affairs specialist at NASA, told NBC News. She was Williams said that having an elementary school in her hometown named after her as humbling and overwhelming. True New England fall dinner on the Williams was one of two candidates after whom Needham Public Schools considered naming the new school. The other, Leslie Cutler, was the first woman s...

During her time in orbit, she did seven spacewalks, several science experiments, extensive robotic work, completed a marathon and triathlon, and even blogged and tweeted from space—all of this while making big decisions manning the International Space Station as commander of Expedition 33. Sunita Williams: astronaut, engineer, pilot, runner, swimmer, pet-lover, and a woman who is a role model for anyone interested in space exploration. When the 47-year-old Indian-American astronaut took charge as commander of Expedition 33 onboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on July 15, 2012, she became the second woman in history to do so. As a female astronaut, she holds the record for the longest space time (322 days) on two space missions. With seven spacewalks (50 hours 40 minutes), she also holds the record for total cumulative spacewalk time by a female astronaut. So how does Williams feel making space history? "Records are there for breaking," she says. "It's just another way to let people know how far we have advanced. I am hoping the next generation of space explorers will just get out there and break them." NASA astronaut Sunita Williams works with Robonaut 2 humanoid robot in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. Image: NASA Wind Beneath Her Wings Growing up in Needham, MA, Williams aspired to be a veterinarian until her brother influenced her to join the U.S. Naval Academy, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in physical science in 1987. It wasn't u...

As if spending months in space wasn't challenging enough, one astronaut is taking the time to compete in marathons and triathlons while aloft. Sunita Williams, who will be taking command of the International Space Station in September 2012, has put a new twist on staying in shape while off-planet. Let's take a look at this amazing astronaut. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, is pictured in the Cupola of the International Space Station during rendezvous operations with the unpiloted Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-3). This image was taken July 27, 2012. (Image credit: NASA) Speaking of her father immigrating from India with his brothers, Williams said, "Working their way through university and coming over to America, without much infrastructure — I think about leaving my home for another country — that seems more daring than the things I've done." Her life took a profound turn when her older brother attended the U.S. Naval Academy and suggested she consider it, as she lived an active life. She decided to follow his lead, and in 1987, graduated from the academy with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Science. Sunita became a helicopter pilot, and served in the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield. In 1993, she graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, and went on to perform test flights in a variety of military helicopters. In 1995, she completed her master's degree in Eng...