Record-setting astronaut to visit SP schools

NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams will visit several local schools Friday as part of a program sponsored by the Sun Prairie Business and Education Partnership.

This is the second time she will connect with Sun Prairie students. Prior to her December 2006 space flight, students from Royal Oaks Elementary participated in a video conference with Williams, whose niece attends Royal Oaks.

When Williams returns to Sun Prairie, she plans to deliver to her niece a necklace that she took into space.

Williams will speak before student assemblies at Royal Oaks Elementary and Prairie View Middle School. She will spend the afternoon at Sun Prairie High School visiting the physics classes and meeting with the Aviation and Space students.

Community members are invited to a special presentation by Williams in the school auditorium from 1:15 - 2:15 p.m.

Williams was selected into NASA's astronaut program in June of 1998.

She served as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, launching with the crew on Dec. 9, 2006, and docking with the station on Dec. 11, 2006.

As a member of the Expedition-14 crew, Williams established a world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes.

She concluded her tour of duty as a member of the Expedition-15 crew, returning to Earth June 22, 2007.

During her 195 days in space, Williams set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman.

While in space, she ran the first marathon by an astronaut in orbit, finishing the Boston Marathon in four hours and 24 minutes. Williams' sister, Dina Pandya, and fellow astronaut Karen L. Nyberg ran the marathon on Earth, while Williams received updates on their progress from Mission Control.

Williams currently serves as NASA's Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office.