June 23, 2007
Sunita Back Home as Atlantis Lands Safely
by Arun
Kumar
Washington
India American astronaut Sunita Williams finally returned after a
195-day record space odyssey with six fellow astronauts as the
Atlantis space shuttle roared safely back to Earth.
There was silence in the cockpit as US Commander Rick Sturckow and
pilot Lee Archambault completed the final moves to bring the
aircraft - which functions as a glider in its landing phase - safely
back to earth at 7.49 p.m. GMT Friday (1.19 a.m. IST Saturday),
broadcast sound from NASA showed.
Atlantis
landed at the Edwards Air Force Base in California after completing
a 9.3 million km journey. The space shuttle had to pass up three
landing windows Thursday and Friday due to bad weather in Florida,
the preferred landing place.
The seven astronauts walked around the shuttle to inspect it for
damage after the landing and then retired from public view. Sunita
was transported away, presumably to allow her time to readjust to
the effects of gravity, DPA news agency added.
Sunita is known for her fitness in space, where she was an official
entrant in the Boston marathon that she ran tied down to a treadmill
while orbiting in the space station.
US space agency NASA has planned a public welcoming ceremony for
Sunita and the six other astronauts.
Though well short of the 438-day world record set by Russian
cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov in 1994 and 1995, Sunita's journey lasting
194 days, 18 hours and 58 minutes is the longest space flight by a
woman. On June 16, she surpassed US astronaut Shannon Lucid's
188-day 4-hour mark set on a mission to the Russian Mir space
station in 1996.
On her very first space journey, Sunita with four excursions spread
over 29 hours and 17 minutes also topped Kathy Thornton's 21-hour
record to become the world's most experienced woman space walker.
"My hat's off to the team that really pulled off an awesome
mission," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator
for space operations at a post-landing press conference.
The challenges posed during the Atlantis mission are invaluable
learning experiences that will help the agency prepare for future
exploration, he said.
"Welcome back! Congratulations on a great mission!" astronaut Tony
Antonelli radioed Atlantis commander Frederick Sturckow from Mission
Control in Houston as the spaceship's parachute billowed out in the
thin desert air.
"It is great and wonderful to see all of them come back home
safely," Sunita's father Deepak Pandya said after the landing.
"We all are holding our breath today," Pandya said earlier from New
Jersey as his wife Bonnie and daughter Dina awaited her return at
Houston. One of his nephews had come from India to watch the
landing.
Sunita's family and the world at large had prayed for her safe
return as the first Indian American astronaut Kalpana Chawla had
perished with six other astronauts in the 2003 Columbia disaster.
According to Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, Atlantis may be
returned to Kennedy Space Centre in six or seven days riding
piggyback on a modified Boeing 747.
At that point, the orbiter will immediately begin processing for its
next mission, set to launch later this year. The transportation of
the space shuttle would cost about $1.7 million.
Williams' space journey began Dec 9 atop space shuttle Discovery.
The Atlantis blasted off June 8 to fetch Williams and install new
solar power panels aboard the International Space Station. American
astronaut Clayton Anderson has replaced her as the new flight
engineer on the station.
Atlantis' was the 118th shuttle mission and 21st mission to visit
the space station. The next mission is slated to launch in August.
NASA intends to end the ageing shuttle programme in 2010, when it
finishes work on the ISS.
New Delhi From the national capital to several small towns, a large number
of Indians felt a sense of relief and pride as Indian American
astronaut Sunita Williams returned home safely after 195 days in
space. Across India, many people had been praying for Sunita
Williams after Atlantis failed to land Thursday and Friday due to
bad weather.
"It is a great relief. She is a hero and we welcome her on earth,"
said a jubilant Rahul Samant, a Jaipur resident. "I was monitoring
television and the NASA website till she landed. I was a little
frustrated when her first attempt to land could not materialise. But
finally god listened to our prayers," said Sandip Rawat of New
Delhi.
Sunita Williams was the only subject of discussion for the last
three days at the Tagore Bal Niketan School in Karnal, Haryana.
Students of the school, which was deceased astronaut Kalpana
Chawla's alma mater, had offered special prayers for Sunita's safe
return.
"We were closely watching the developments since Thursday night.
After Sunita's landing was deferred by a day, we conducted a special
prayer for her," said Rajan Lamba, the school principal. "It is
great to hear that she has landed safely. My students and I were
very emotional about the whole expedition and are a relived lot
today," Lamba added.
Students of Meerut University and schools in Ahemedabad and
Jalandhar also celebrated Sunita's return. People also prayed for
"sister Sunita" in Bhopal.
US space agency NASA has planned a public welcoming ceremony for
Sunita Williams and the six others who went up to fetch her from the
International Space Station on space shuttle Atlantis.
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Washington
Atlantis
landed at the Edwards Air Force Base in California after completing
a 9.3 million km journey. The space shuttle had to pass up three
landing windows Thursday and Friday due to bad weather in Florida,
the preferred landing place.
