• NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned safely to Earth from the International Space Station, where they have been living for nine months in a drawn-out mission fraught with technical challenges and schedule changes.

• Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, just hours after departing the International Space Station. 

• Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, bringing their unplanned odyssey to an end.

• Dolphins circled the capsule as divers readied it for hoisting onto the recovery ship. Once safely on board, the side hatch was opened and the astronauts were helped out.

• The astronauts were waving and smiling at the cameras while being hustled away in reclining stretchers for routine medical checks.

‘Stuck at work’ for 286 days

• Williams and Wilmore were launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on June 5, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The duo arrived at the space station on June 6. 

• The two expected to return after a week. 

• So many problems cropped up on the way to the space station that NASA eventually sent Starliner back empty and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming into February. Then SpaceX capsule issues added another month’s delay.

• Wilmore and Williams’ plight captured the world’s attention, giving new meaning to the phrase “stuck at work”. While other astronauts had logged longer spaceflights over the decades, none had to deal with so much uncertainty or see the length of their mission expand by so much.

• Wilmore (62) and Williams (59) quickly transitioned from guests to full-fledged station crew members, conducting experiments, fixing equipment and even spacewalking together. 

• With 62 hours over nine spacewalks, Williams set a record: the most time spent spacewalking over a career among female astronauts.

• Wilmore and Williams ended up spending 286 days in space — 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched. They circled Earth 4,576 times and travelled 195 million kilometers by the time of splashdown. 

• Both had lived on the orbiting lab before and knew the ropes, and brushed up on their station training before rocketing away. Williams became the station’s commander three months into their stay and held the post until earlier this month.

• The duo returned home aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. 

Profile of Sunita Williams

• Born on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio to Dr. Deepak and Bonnie Pandya.

• Education: Bachelor of Science in Physical Science, US Naval Academy, 1987.

Master of Science in Engineering Management, Florida Institute of Technology, 1995.

• She is married to Michael J. Williams, a federal marshal in Texas.

• Williams received her commission as an Ensign in the United States Navy from the United States Naval Academy in May 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she received her designation as a Basic Diving Officer and then reported to Naval Aviation Training Command. She was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989.

• She was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998.

• Williams was one among the crew of STS-116 on December 9, 2006, docking with the International Space Station on December 11, 2006. As a member of the Expedition 14 crew, Williams served as Flight Engineer. While onboard, she established a then-world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes. Williams concluded her tour of duty as a member of the Expedition 15 crew returning to Earth with the STS-117 crew to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California on June 22, 2007.

• Williams launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, along with Russian Soyuz commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, on July 14, 2012. They reached the International Space Station on July 17, 2012. Williams spent four months conducting research and exploration aboard the orbiting laboratory. She landed in Kazakhstan on November 18, 2012, after spending 127 days in space. 

• As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9, Williams completed a spacewalk with NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore to help remove a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss and collected samples and surface material for analysis from the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock. During this spacewalk, Williams surpassed former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. Williams now has 62 hours, 6 minutes of total spacewalk time, fourth on NASA’s all-time list.

PM Modi invites Sunita Williams to India

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and invited her to visit India.

• The letter was written on March 1 and sent through former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino.

• Modi recalled meeting Williams and her late father Deepak Pandya during his 2016 visit to the US.

• With prayers on their lips, residents of Sunita Williams’ ancestral village in Gujarat celebrated her safe return to Earth.

• Her father Deepak Pandya, originally from Jhulasan, migrated to the United States in 1957.

• Williams has visited India at least thrice, including in 2007 and 2013, soon after her space missions and has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2008.

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