Words matter. These are the best Sunita Williams Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
When any part of the Station is moved from its designated location to do a repair, we really risk losing things.
The main goal of the International Space Station is to work on peaceful projects. In space, we’re all people from Earth.
Space is absolutely a 3-D world in comparison to our 2-D world on Earth.
There’s one downside in comparison to both Soyuz and SpaceX, is that when you go to those places – when I went to Russia, or when I went to California – you’re sort of focused on what you’re doing. Your family’s not there. Your lawn isn’t needing to be cut. You’re just focusing on what you need to do.
Space felt like home.
All of us who are flying on international space stations speak some Russian and speak some English. Both the languages are needed to fly in a Russian spacecraft and communicate with your colleagues.
I flew helicopters, which actually is the second best view of the earth. The first best view is, I think, a little bit higher.
I think after orbiting for a while and looking at the surface, I think the natural tendency is to want to experience it, to go down there and touch it. I started thinking about the Apollo astronauts who orbited the moon and didn’t land – that must have been agonizing!
Once you get into the spacecraft, you’re on your way, you’ve got a mission, you’re focused, and it’s really exciting.
A bonus container is food, especially for each individual – supposed to be one every month, but in fine Pandya fashion, I have been ‘saving’ them. They are food that we requested or indicated that we particularly liked.
My first mission was six and a half months. We weren’t exactly sure how long it was going to be because I went up and back on the space shuttle, which was dependent on weather for launch and landing.
The space program is a peaceful project. The next door is opening. We have to go farther into space. But, before that, we need to develop far more improved nutrition and more advanced spacecraft.
I will say one of my favorite Russian side dishes is beet salad. It is dehydrated beets chopped very finely with nuts. It is a great side dish. I would like to try to make this when I get home. The nuts make it!
Mission Control in Houston receives our e-mails through a satellite and then sends them out to our family and friends. Likewise, any e-mails written to us go through the Mission Control, and then they send them up to us via a satellite.
Planets look about the same here as they do to you on the Earth because we really aren’t that much closer. Our home, the International Space Station, orbits around the Earth at about 200 miles.
When you’re faced with something for the first time, and if you’re scared to death of that, you might want to reconcile your life beforehand.
One thing to say about doing maintenance in space – it is difficult because the parts and pieces float away. You end up using a lot of tape and Velcro to make sure things stay put.
Me personally – not something to do with NASA – I do think there is a God, and it’s somebody looking out for us and trying to guide us to live a very happy, productive life. There is further meaning. That’s just my thought.
There are areas of the Earth that I would absolutely think no one lived in based on daytime observations. But then at night, lights pop up in those areas.
The Space Station is primarily made of aluminum. The smell is really weird and sort of like burning metal. It is absolutely distinct and totally repeatable.
We certainly would not be here, living and working on the International Space Station without the commitment and dedication of all the folks who worked the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Programs as well as the Russian Space Program.
When you’re on a Soyuz flight, you know that when you go to Russia, you’re going to do X, Y, and Z. You have that plan already laid out.
The International Space Station is a great place to live for a year.
It’s just this beautiful laboratory in space, and it’s doing a lot of really cool things. So being up there and just being able to fly through that big station one more time and do some experiments while you’re up there and get that view out of the cupola… priceless.
It’s only now that I see the bigger picture: Our ways to attain spirituality may be different – through diverse religious, customs and traditions – but they’re modeled on similar principles and ideologies. That’s what ties us all together.
The food containers come in different varieties: for example, drinks, breakfast type food, meats, vegetables. There are about 5-10 days of that type of food in each container. We try not to open a new container until we finish the one we are on – even if that means going without coffee for a couple of days.
Every month, we weigh ourselves to make sure we aren’t losing weight. I really have been eating more than I do on Earth to make sure I don’t lose too much weight.
In space, you need to stay as ‘usual’ as possible. On the space station, I would brush my hair every day.
I personally look forward to building the Orion. I believe that our country needs to pursue that technology.
The Progress is launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, just like the Soyuz. It almost looks the same as the Soyuz but unmanned, so, essentially filled up with supplies for us – anything from food, science experiments, repair parts, etc., can go in it.
I do hope there are other wonderful planets living and thriving out there, but ours is special because it is ours and ours to take care of. We really can’t take that too lightly.
There is still some gravity where we are and even as far out as our moon. That is why our moon stays in orbit around the Earth. We don’t feel the gravity up here because it is so much smaller than the force we feel when we are on the Earth.
The space walks were amazing with the incredible views.
When I went to Test Pilot School, that’s when we came to Johnson Space Center. And I ended up seeing John Young and listening to him talk and getting a positive influence from him.
When you look at the darkest areas in space, you feel that there’s something out there that we don’t know about.
My father, who is deeply spiritual and religious, always stressed that my siblings and I remain true to our Indian roots.
Usually, if you stop for tea, someone will feel the desire to join you.
You don’t see any borders between countries from space. That’s man-made, and one experiences it only when you return to Earth.
I don’t feel like a hero – just another person involved in the space business. I’m hoping to encourage young folks to become explorers.
I think windows are really important for the psychological health of crew members on long duration missions. It is nice to look outside, even if it is dark.
