Sunita Williams turning 60: Here are her historic space missions
What's the story
A trailblazer in space exploration, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams will celebrate her 60th birthday this year.
Williams was born on September 19, 1965, in Euclid, Ohio, and has always pushed the boundaries of space travel.
Her incredible journey started at the US Naval Academy and has seen her serve as a combat helicopter pilot during the Persian Gulf War and a naval test pilot, among others.
Career shift
Transition to space exploration
Williams's career took a major turn in 1998 when she joined NASA's astronaut program after completing her Master's degree in Engineering Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
This transition marked the beginning of her historic journey into space exploration.
Her training with Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) further prepared her for future missions, including record-breaking spacewalks and extended orbital stays.
Space legacy
Historic records
Williams etched her name in space history with the STS-116 mission aboard Discovery on December 9, 2006.
As a flight engineer for Expeditions 14 and 15, she set records for women in space. These included more than 29 hours of spacewalks and over 195 days in orbit.
Her unique mix of personal passion with professional achievements was on display when she ran a Boston Marathon from the ISS treadmill.
Commandership
Leadership roles in space missions
In her second space mission, Williams was a flight engineer for Expedition 32 and then the commander of Expedition 33 aboard Soyuz TMA-05M. During this mission, she also completed three more spacewalks, taking her total to more than 50 hours outside the ISS.
Going private
Role in NASA's Commercial Crew program
In 2015, Williams was chosen as one of the astronauts for NASA's Commercial Crew program, which seeks to advance private spacecraft for ISS missions.
Last year, she piloted the first crewed test flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. Despite technical issues like thruster failures and helium leaks during the mission, she managed to dock the vessel to the ISS.
Since then she has done spacewalks again, and is finally set to return to Earth after a nine-month stay.