U.S. Navy retired Capt. Sunita L. Williams will address the U.S. Naval War College faculty, staff and students and discuss the importance of space exploration in an evening lecture.
In early 2023, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams will serve as one of two test pilots on the first crewed mission of Boeing’s CST-100 “Starliner” on a mission to the International Space Station.
Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two long-endurance space missions, expeditions 14/15 and 32/33. As one of NASA’s most experienced astronauts, she has logged a total of 322 days in space and completed seven spacewalks with a combined total of over 50 hours outside the ISS.
A graduate of Needham High School in Needham, Massachusetts, Williams earned her bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 and a master's degree from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995. After her commissioning, she became a naval aviator flying helicopters and made overseas deployments in support of Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort. Williams is a graduate of Naval Test Pilot School and has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in 30 aircraft types. She was the assistant air boss aboard USS Saipan (LHA-2) when she was selected to be an astronaut.