Sunita Williams steps into Kalpana's shoes

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams has been appointed along with two others as part of the replacement crew for the six-month-long International Space Station Expedition to be carried out in September this year.

Sunita's selection caps the prospects, which began in 2003 when she was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency as a backup crew member for one of its missions to the space station orbiting about 240 miles above Earth.

She is the second astronaut of Indian origin after Kalpana Chawla, whose space odyssey had a tragic end on February 1, 2003, when space shuttle Columbia exploded over Texas during re-entry.

Also See:
Remembering Kalpana Chawla