Sunita Williams lands in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: A visit to the Sabarmati Ashram to pay homage to her slain cousin and touring some scientific institutions in Hyderabad and Chennai will be high on the agenda of Indian American astronaut Sunita William who arrived here today on a week-long visit to India.

Williams, who set a record for the longest stay in space by a woman, was welcomed by her father Deepak Pandya and uncle Vitthal Pandya this morning at the Sardar Patel International Airport.

The astronaut is scheduled to visit the Sabarmati Ashram this evening where she will garland the statue of her cousin Haren Pandya, a former Gujarat home minister who was murdered in 2003.

Williams will also interact with students of the Gujarat Unviersity in Ahmedabad on Saturday besides talking about her experiences in space at the 58th International Astronautical Congress which is scheduled to take place in Hyderabad on September 24-18.

"I am very happy to arrive in Gujarat and was looking forward to this visit for a long time", Williams told her relatives at the airport.

42-year-old Williams, who arrived here on an Air India flight from London, is visiting Gujarat after a gap of ten years.

Clad in a black T-shirt and jeans, Williams left for her hotel from the airport.

The astronaut, who spent a record 195 days onboard spaceship Discovery, will be conferred with the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratiba Award here on Friday. She also has to her credit a record of four space walks totalling 29 hours and 17 minutes.

She also has against her name the first marathon by an astronaut in orbit lasting four hours and 24 minutes.

Williams will be visiting her father's native village Jhulasan in Mehsana district tomorrow and attend a couple of programmes involving school children.

Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishor Sharma will be hosting a dinner on September 23 in honour of Williams who is being treated as a state guest. Chief Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to preside over a function organised by the Gujarat University to felicitate her.

Williams, who studied engineering management at Florida's Institute of Technology, received her commission as an ensign in the United States in 1987 and has served as helicopter pilot and naval test pilot. She has put in over 2770 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

She was selected by National Agency of Space Administration (NASA) for astronaut training in 1998.