SUNI WILLIAMS Commemorative This commemorative patch celebrates the extraordinary career of Astronaut Sunita (Suni) L. Williams. Born September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio to Dr. Deepak and Bonnie Pandya, she considers Needham, Massachusetts to be her hometown. She graduated from Needham High School, Needham, Massachusetts, in 1983. Earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Science, U.S. Naval Academy in 1987 and a Master of Science in Engineering Management, Florida Institute of Technology in 1995. At the top of this commemorative are the US Naval Aviator Astronaut wings celebrating her service in the US Navy. Suni Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998. She first launched aboard Discovery STS-116 in December 2006 to serve during Expeditions 14-15. On April 16, 2007 she participated in the Boston Marathon while aboard the ISS during Expedition 14. She then launched aboard Soyuz TMA-05M to serve during Expedition 32 and Command Expedition 33. In the patch she holds a torch for two reasons. The Expedition 32 patch featured a torch (the flame depicts the pursuit of knowledge and the importance of education. Secondly she served during the 2024 Summer Olympics https://www.space.com/nasa-astronauts-summer-olympics-2024-iss-video Most recently she launched aboard Starliner CFT in June 2024 to participate in Expedition 71 but now will also serve during Expedition 72 before returning home on Crew 9 in March 2025. She and Butch will be the first (I believe) to fly aboard four different spacecraft. Other "Easter Eggs" in this commemorative: · The orbiter on this patch is from the STS-116 patch · The Soyuz is from the TMA-05M patch · The Moon and Mars are from the Expedition 14 patch. · The mission designations are from those mission patches. I am delighted that Mission Control shared the design of this patch with Suni last September as a birthday greeting. Tim Gagnon Approximately 4"x4.5"
