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Sunita Williams
shares her space odyssey
WASHINGTON: After her return
to earth Sunita Williams, for the first time shared her experience to the
media on Friday.
She said, “I was excited
to cover the Boston Marathon in space.” She ran a total of 26 and half
mile in space to prove the fact that physical fitness was an important
factor for an astronaut. NASA has been doing fantastic work for the last
40 years, she added.
An excited Sunita said, “The
first thing I did was have a pizza, now I plan to go to the beach this
weekend.”
After landing, she felt a
little different in the first 48 hours.
Sunita became the second
woman of Indian origin after Kalpana Chawla to blast off on a space mission
and spend six months at the International Space Station where US shuttle
Discovery left on completion of a 12-day repair job.
However, stormy weather in
the vicinity of the Kennedy Space Centre forced NASA mangers to abandon
the first landing opportunity of space shuttle Atlantis returning to earth
after a 13-day mission.
Thunderstorms within 55 kilometres
and clouds within 8,000 feet of the landing strip at Kennedy Space Center
forced mission managers to skip the first landing opportunity to touchdown
in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Attempting to land so close
to rain or clouds would violate flight rules, NASA had said.
While the image of Sunita
Williams smiling and floating will stay etched in the minds of Indians
across the country.
Sunita Williams
New Delhi: It’s a small
step for Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams and a giant leap for
women all over the world. Williams who spacewalked, ran a marathon and
‘hung’ around in space for a record breaking six months is now all set
to return to Earth.
When the Space Shuttle Atlantis
touched down safely today, one of its passengers was the record-setting
female astronaut Sunita Williams. During the mission, she managed to set
a new endurance record for women -- logging 194 days in orbit after six
months on the International Space Station -- and still took time out for
charity.
In December she had her
long hair cut so she could donate her locks to help those who have lost
their hair while fighting an illness.
Long hair is not very practical
in space anyway, where she also set the world record for a female astronaut
on spacewalks, totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes.
Williams, 41, proved she
could not only walk in space but run. When her sister Dina Pandya ran the
Boston Marathon April 16, Williams ran her own marathon in space using
a treadmill suspended by gyroscopes to minimize any impact of pounding
feet on the space station.
"I was thinking about her.
If she's going through this, I can do it," Pandya said.
Despite her success in space,
Williams said she didn't immediately get her dream job in flight.
"I tell little girls about
the story. I started flight school when 'Top Gun' came out, so of course
everybody wanted to fly jets," she told ABC News earlier in the week. "That
was the cool thing to do, and I put that down as my first choice but got
helicopters."
But she said in the end
it worked out. "You just sort of take what you get," she said. "Maybe you
don't get the first thing that you want. If you are good at what you do
and you try hard, some things sort of fall into place," she said.
After flying helicopters
for the Navy during the first Gulf War, Commander Sunita Williams was selected
to train as an astronaut.
Praying for a Safe Return
As the Atlantis finished
its 14-day trip, Williams had an international cheering squad awaiting
her safe return.
Williams has a Slovenian
mother and an Indian father who had hundreds of people praying in India.
"In my hometown, for seven days everyone is praying," her father, Deepak
Pandya, said.
During the mission, she
managed to set a new endurance record for women -- logging 194 days in
orbit after six months on the International Space Station -- and still
took time out for charity.
In December she had her
long hair cut so she could donate her locks to help those who have lost
their hair while fighting an illness.
Long hair is not very practical
in space anyway, where she also set the world record for a female astronaut
on spacewalks, totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes.
Williams, 41, proved she
could not only walk in space but run. When her sister Dina Pandya ran the
Boston Marathon April 16, Williams ran her own marathon in space using
a treadmill suspended by gyroscopes to minimize any impact of pounding
feet on the space station.
"I was thinking about her.
If she's going through this, I can do it," Pandya said.
Despite her success in space,
Williams said she didn't immediately get her dream job in flight.
"I tell little girls about
the story. I started flight school when 'Top Gun' came out, so of course
everybody wanted to fly jets," she told ABC News earlier in the week. "That
was the cool thing to do, and I put that down as my first choice but got
helicopters."
But she said in the end
it worked out. "You just sort of take what you get," she said. "Maybe you
don't get the first thing that you want. If you are good at what you do
and you try hard, some things sort of fall into place," she said.
After flying helicopters
for the Navy during the first Gulf War, Commander Sunita Williams was selected
to train as an astronaut.
Praying for a Safe Return
As the Atlantis finished
its 14-day trip, Williams had an international cheering squad awaiting
her safe return.
Williams has a Slovenian
mother and an Indian father who had hundreds of people praying in India.
"In my hometown, for seven days everyone is praying," her father, Deepak
Pandya, said.
"I'd send her pictures almost
daily of what he's doing," Pandya said.
Now, Williams is gearing
up to take care of him, and said, "I should be able to take him for a walk
on the beach by Sunday morning, I think."
"The dog is a naughty little
terrier … but she loves him," her father added.
Her family caught a glimpse
of Williams this week, when the shuttle and International Space Station
did a flyby over Earth.
"I've been trying to see
this for so many months now," her sister said.
When the shuttle was seen
in the night sky, Pandya exclaimed "Woooh, there she is!" and pointed the
space craft out to Williams' beloved pet. "Gorby, Look! Sunni is right
there right above us."
Now that she's back on the
ground, Williams' dreams don't end. What she really wants to do next is
fly to the moon.
"I think all of us have
that in the back of our mind," she said. "All of us have seen the Apollo
guys walk on the moon and think, 'Wow, that would be neat, and we'd love
to do it.'"
And if she does, it won't
surprise us. Now, as she heads home to Needham, Massachussets to her waiting
family and her dog, India joins the world in praying for a safe landing
for Atlantis. And with a little help from her Ganesha, the Bhagvad Gita
she took with her and the weather, Sunita will be back on earth soon.
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