Will Sunita Williams Visit India Soon? Gujarati Cousin Reveals Vacation Plans

Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, both part of Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission, landed off the coast of Florida on Wednesday morning aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft

Williams and Wilmore originally flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 last year.

Source : x.com/NASA/media

Sunita Williams Return: Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams returned safely to Earth at 3.27 am IST after an unexpected nine-month stay in space. Her cousin sister described the moment as "surreal."

Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, both part of Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission, landed off the coast of Florida on Wednesday morning aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

"That moment was surreal," Williams’ cousin Falguni Pandya told NDTV as she expressed happiness at Williams' safe return and gratitude for the successful completion of the mission.

Williams and Wilmore originally flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 last year for what was intended to be a brief mission to test Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, due to propulsion issues, the spacecraft was deemed unfit for return, forcing the astronauts to remain aboard the ISS for an extended period. The Starliner ultimately returned uncrewed.

The astronauts undocked from the ISS at 10:35 a.m. IST on Tuesday, embarking on a 17-hour journey back to Earth.

Family Time And Future Prospects

Pandya, speaking from a temple after Williams' return, shared her excitement about reuniting with her cousin. “We are also planning on going on vacation together. There is going to be a lot of family time,” she said.

When asked whether Williams would consider another spaceflight or even a mission to Mars, Pandya said it would be “her choice.”

Pandya praised Williams's resilience. “She makes the best of every situation she is in,” she said, calling Williams a role model. “When life throws a lemon at you, make a lemonade.”

Meanwhile, the White House thanked SpaceX, NASA, and Elon Musk after Williams and Wilmore splashed down.

The White House also mentioned how President Donald Trump promised to rescue the NASA astronauts stranded in space for nine months, which has now been fulfilled. Trump also shared the splashdown moment of the astronauts on his social media platform Truth Social, but without writing anything about it in the caption.