Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams (born September 19,

1965) is an American astronaut and United States

Navy officer of Indian-Slovenian descent. She holds
the records for total spacewalks by a woman (seven)
[2]
and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours,
40
minutes). Williams
was
assigned
to
the International Space Station as a member
ofExpedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she
served as a flight engineer on Expedition 32 and then
commander ofExpedition 33.
Williams
graduated
from Needham
High
School in Needham, Massachusetts, in 1983. She
received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical
science from the United States Naval Academy in
1987, and a Master of Science degree in Engineering
Management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.
Williams was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with STS-116,
aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, on December 9, 2006, to join
the Expedition 14 crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated,
changing toExpedition 15. Among the personal items Williams took with her to
the ISS were a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a small figurine of
the Hindu deity Ganesha, and some samosas.
Sunita Williams launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 2012, as
part of Expedition 32/33. Her Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M docked with
the ISS for a four-month stay at the orbiting outpost on July 17, 2012. [19] The
docking of the Soyuz occurred at 4:51 GMT as the ISS flew over Kazakhstan at
an altitude of 252 miles. The hatchway between the Soyuz spacecraft and the
ISS was opened at 7:23 GMT and Williams floated into the ISS to begin her
duties as a member of the Expedition 32 crew. She was accompanied on the
Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
astronaut Aki Hoshide and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. Williams
served as commander of the ISS during her stay onboard ISS Expedition 33,
succeeding Gennady Padalka.[20] She became the commander of the International
Space Station on September 17, 2012, being only the second woman to achieve
the feat.[21] Also in September 2012, she became the first person to do a triathlon
in space, which coincided with the Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in
Southern California.[22] She used the International Space Station's own treadmill
and stationary bike, and for the swimming portion of the race, she used the
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to do weightlifting and resistance
exercises that approximate swimming in microgravity. After "swimming" half a
mile (0.8 km), biking 18 miles (29 km), and running 4 miles (6.4 km), Williams
finished with a time of one hour, 48 minutes and 33 seconds, as she reported. [22]
She returned to earth with fellow astronauts Flight Engineers Yuri
Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide on November 19, 2012, touching down in the

town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Helicopters joined the search-and-recovery crew

to assist them, as their capsule parachuted down some 35 kilometres (22 mi)
from the planned touchdown site due to a procedural delay.
Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962[2][3]
February 1, 2003) was an IndoAmerican astronaut[4] and the first woman
of Indian origin in space.[5] She first flew
on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a
mission specialist and primary robotic
arm operator. In 2003, Chawla was one of
the seven crew members killed in
the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[6]
Kalpana Chawla was born on March 17,
1962. Her official date of birth
was altered to 1 July 1961 to allow her to
join school underage. While other
children of her age dressed their Barbie
dolls, Kalpana liked to draw the pictures
of airplanes.[7] She moved to the United
States in 1982 where she obtained a Master of Science degree in aerospace
engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1984.[8] Determined to
become an astronaut even in the face of the Challenger disaster, Chawla went on
to earn a second Masters in 1986 and a PhD[9] in aerospace engineering in 1988
from the University of Colorado at Boulder.[10]
In 2000, Chawla was selected for her second flight as part of the crew of STS107. This mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and
technical problems such as the July 2002 discovery of cracks in the shuttle
engine flow liners. On January 16, 2003, Chawla finally returned to space
aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on the ill-fated STS-107 mission. Chawla's
responsibilities included the microgravity experiments, for which the crew
conducted nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science, advanced
technology development, and astronaut health and safety. During the launch
of STS-107, Columbia's 28th mission, a piece of foam insulation broke off from
the Space Shuttle external tank and struck the left wing of the orbiter. A few
previous shuttle launches had seen minor damage from foam shedding, [12] but
some engineers suspected that the damage to Columbia was more
serious. NASA managers limited the investigation, reasoning that the crew could
not have fixed the problem if it had been confirmed. [13] When Columbia reentered the atmosphere of Earth, the damage allowed hot atmospheric gases to
penetrate and destroy the internal wing structure, which caused the spacecraft to
become unstable and slowly break apart. [14] After the disaster, Space Shuttle
flight operations were suspended for more than two years, similar to the
aftermath of the Challenger disaster. Construction of the International Space
Station (ISS) was put on hold; the station relied entirely on the
Russian Roscosmos State Corporation for resupply for 29 months until Shuttle
flights resumed with STS-114 and 41 months for crew rotation until STS-121.

Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which occurred on February
1, 2003, when the Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into
theEarth's atmosphere, with the death of all of seven crew members, shortly
before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107. [15] Just 16
minutes before landing, the space shuttle disintegrated, killing all on board.

Shivampet Ruchitha, Telangana

8-year-old Shivampet Ruchitha became the youngest person to receive the

award this year. On July 24, 2014, Ruchita saved two of her school mates
when a train hit their school bus. She noticed that their bus had stopped on
a railway track and a train was coming towards them. Showing extraordinary
presence of mind, she pushed two students out of the window and jumped
off the bus herself too. Unfortunately, she could not save her younger sister
who was sitting in the front row. Her younger brother sustained severe
injuries, but he has recovered now. 16 students, the driver, and the
conductor lost their lives in that accident. She was honoured with the Geeta
Chopra award.