Click to play videoNew Delhi: Sunita Williams becomes the second woman of Indian origin to fly into space as she leaves on a 6-month long Expedition 14 – a NASA mission to the International Space Station where she will serve as a flight engineer.
Her father Deepak Pandya is an Indian-born doctor and her mother a homemaker of Yugoslavian descent.
She's visited India three times, her last after the Columbia tragedy in 2003 where she spent some time in a school in Delhi.
In an interview to Asian Week Williams said she would carry samosas with her in a special container when she launches.
A graduate of the US Naval Academy, she has claimed in interviews never to have thought about becoming an astronaut till a chance meeting with veteran astronaut John Young made her look to the stars.
Indian-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who perished in the Columbia crash was a friend of Williams. According to Williams, the two often went bike riding and hiking together.
Lopez-Alegria, a three-time visitor to space will lead the expedition along with Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin.
(With inputs from Sangeetha Sarma)
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