She is being hailed as the second Kalpana Chawla. Sunita Williams, an Indian American astronaut, has been named as a crew member in the 14th International Space Station (ISS) expedition, undertaken by National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), as part of its six-month mission, due to begin in September this year.

In her maiden journey to outer space, Williams will join Expedition 14 in progress, to serve as a flight engineer, after travelling to the station on space shuttle mission STS-116. Her selection caps the prospects that began in 2003, when she was selected by NASA as a backup crew member for one of its missions to the space station orbiting about 240 miles above earth.

Born on September 19, 1965 in Euclid, Ohio, Williams is the second astronaut of Indian origin after Kalpana Chawla, whose space expedition ended in a tragic odyssey aboard the space shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003.

Williams, the daughter of Deepak and Bonnie Pandya, completed her schooling from Needham High School, Massachusetts in 1983. Her father, a physician from Gujarat who migrated to the US in the 1960s, now works at a veterans hospital. Her mother is of Yugoslavian descent.

She went on to earn a bachelors degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987, followed by a masters degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.

It was in 1987 that Williams received her commission as an ensign in the US Navy from the US Naval Academy. Thereafter she reported to the Naval Aviation Training Command and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1989.

Having trained as a helicopter pilot, a test pilot and test pilot instructor, Williams undertook overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort. She also served as the officer-in-charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida for Hurricane Andrew Relief Operations, onboard USS Sylvania. Besides that, she was assigned to the USS Saipan , Norfolk, Virginia, as aircraft handler and assistant air boss.

She has logged over 2,770 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

In 1998, Williams was selected by NASA, where she underwent rigorous training which included orientation briefings and tours, numerous scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training as well as learning water and wilderness survival techniques.

She also worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency, besides having worked within the Robotics branch on the ISS Robotic Arm and the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.

She has been honoured with Navy Commendation Medals, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and various other service awards.

Williams will be the third woman astronaut to serve on an expedition crew, following Susan Helms on Expedition 2 in 2001, and Peggy Whitson on Expedition 5 in 2002.

In the three-astronaut team, Williams' colleagues on the expedition will be the veteran NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who will be the commander and the station science officer, and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, who will serve as flight engineer and Soyuz commander.

Married to Michael J. Williams, Sunita is the outdoorish sort. Her hobbies include running, swimming, biking, triathlons, windsurfing, snowboarding and bow hunting.