Sunita Lyn Williams is an American-Indian astronaut and United States Navy Officer born on September 19, 1965.
She used to hold the record for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours 40 minutes).
She was born in Euclid, Ohio, to Deepak Pandya from Gujarat, and Bonnie Pandya of Slovenian descent.
She completed her high schooling at Needham, Massachusetts, and later went to the United States Naval Academy where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science.
Williams started working in the US Navy in 1987 and held several positions such as Basic Diving Officer, Naval Aviator and Squadron Safety Officer.
Williams began her astronaut candidate training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998. She has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types.
Her first mission was to the International Space Station on December 9, 2006, on Space Shuttle Discovery. She was sent to join the Expedition 14 crew.
She is the first person to run a marathon in space. Williams listed as an entrant for the 2007 Boston Marathon, and completed the distance in 4 hours and 24 minutes.
On June 5, 2024, Williams became the first woman to fly on a flight test of an orbital spacecraft when she piloted the Boeing Starliner to space.
Williams is married to Michael J. Williams, a federal marshal in Texas. She is a practising Hindu and has taken a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a copy of the Upanishads, and a peaceful Om to the space on separate occasions.